The Fantasy Games (Final Fantasy Fanfiction)

Chapter Eight: Animal I Have Become

Chaos.

Yuna hated it, she loathed the word itself but she couldn't help but wonder what it was exactly. What others saw it as. Perhaps as a force? Or a feeling? It couldn't be physical, you couldn't touch it or materially feel it but you could really feel its wrath. She felt it right now, she could feel its unholy presence, making her skin crawl and her stomach flip. She knew it was caused by all Hell breaking lose, when twenty-six teenagers sprang into action as the countdown reached zero, when control was lost, when order was disrupted, when peace was broken...

When primeval sides took over...

She was no better; she had leapt off of her platform and made a beeline for a small rucksack that was moved farther from the other items at the base of the giant Shinra monument. She had forgotten all about the other tributes, about Tidus, even about Cloud, just focusing on the bag and then running into the forests. That's what animals did wasn't it? They only focused on one thing at a time, only on the one thing that would help them to survive and once they obtained it, they thought of the next thing, repeating the process their whole lives.

Now she had become an animal, along with all the other tributes, it was probably why she was still alive. She was completely focused on survival and on her senses, she felt as though she could hear, smell and see everything all at the one time. It was funny how alive she felt so close to her death.

She could hear screams of pain and terror around her, she wanted to block them out so much and never hear such torturous sounds again, but she knew she couldn't. Life wasn't that fair. She could see a bullet shoot through Sector One's female tribute's head, splattering blood all over the grass and staining the girl's beautiful hair. She couldn't help the scream that escaped her lips, looking around wildly while running for the person with the gun. Seifer's wide grin answered her unasked question and only made her double her efforts to escape. She didn't want for anyone to see part of her brain staining the lush green grass.

Looking behind her to see if anyone was near enough to strike out at her, she could see Sector Eleven's male tribute pick up a gigantic sword and gorge the beautiful girl from Sector Four with the long blonde hair and bright eyes. Yuna didn't have time to feel sorry for Rosa as the sword was ripped forcefully out of her and used to block an oncoming lance from a furious dragoon. By the sound of his scream of agony, Yuna didn't think he managed to keep the lance at bay.

She forced herself to forget about the screams and bloodshed behind her and continued to sprint towards the bag, glad of the hours she put into raising her fitness. Sector Twelve's female tribute, her name was Ann or Ashe or something like that, appeared in front of her, running like a scared deer and not looking where she was going. Yuna didn't even hesitate to twist her body to the side, rolling around her before resuming her journey to the bag. A small part of her hoped Paine saw that quick reflex.

She reached down and grabbed the handle while running, never stopping. The sound of the wind whooshing unnaturally and the rattle of chains sent a warning shiver down her spine as she ran. The black blur coming towards her from the right sent her nerves skyrocketing until she had no control over her actions. Her instincts took over as she felt a sharp object approaching at neck height, ready to decapitate her. She didn't even think about what she was doing until she had tilted her head back to the sky, letting her knees buckle and skidding along the grass on her shins as the deadly weapon flew by above her. Using the momentum to send her forward into a roll and leap back onto her feet, she sprinted onwards, not breaking pace and allowing a small sense of victory to rise within her at the sound of Garland's enraged growl from behind her.

She reached the outskirts of the forest and paused, ignoring her instincts and turning back to see if anyone had followed her. No one had noticed her quick exit; they were all too preoccupied with staying alive. Bodies littered the ground as blood stained the grass. She could see Garland in the middle of it, his big form dominating the other tributes who remained alive. She could see Ann or Ashe make it into the forest while the two youngest tributes, Zidane and Garnet reach safety on the other side. A long blue jacket caught her attention as jet black hair with brown highlights billowed out behind Rinoa as she ran into the trees, her own rucksack in hand.