Even Demons Can Be Saved

Rescue

Eve was still swaying dangerously, but she forced her mind to focus on one step at a time. She couldn't afford to worry about not making it. She was so out of it that she had forgotten about the fact that there was a shattered glass wall she had to get passed until she stepped on one of the shards. The sharp pain raced through her and allowed a little clarity as well as forcing a scream from her. She grimaced as she stepped back and saw a bloody smear across the floor. She also saw the floor littered with glass shards. She cursed under her breath as she tried to pick her way through them.

She only made it a few steps when she was stopped by the sound of a low growl. She looked up with her heart in her throat at an unimaginable terror that must have been released when Hojo took off. She had the fleeting thought that Shelke had been right about her being eaten if this thing was one of the monsters in the other cells. When the thing crouched as if it were about to pounce, Eve was shocked back to the present. She screamed out of instinct. Her cry brought the phoenix diving down onto the beast before it could move.

Eve almost starting crying at the sight of it. She had no idea how she hadn't realized it was still out. The drain on her mana was noticeable. With a choked voice, she called out to the firebird. "Help us escape. Protect us!"

The bird had shrunk to a smaller size when the threat was dealt with and circled her head once before it shot back out of the room with a shrill cry. Now that Eve was paying attention, she could tell that it had not gone far. It was hovering just outside of the cell and waiting for her.

Eve didn't notice the tears that had started falling as she continued to make her way through the minefield of glass. She slipped once as the blood from her first cut was making her footing treacherous. Her continued dizziness didn't help, but she refused to give up. When she slipped, she reached out on instinct to the closest thing to catch herself on and screamed when it was the jagged edge of the cell wall. She didn't even bother looking at the damage done, but she couldn't hold in a sob. She pressed her clenched fist against Shelke's back to stem the flow of blood. It was not ideal, but she had no time to stop and refused to relax her grip on the girl. She was barely able to hold her and stay upright as it was.

When she finally made it out of the room, she wanted to drop where she was standing. She was already exhausted. She didn't stop, though. They were far from safe. She felt a bit of relief when the tiny firebird circled her a few times, and she felt the stinging in her foot and hand lessen. She also felt a little strength return to her limbs, and her head cleared somewhat. She was far from healed and ready to take on anything, but it was enough for her to reposition Shelke against her shoulder and head the direction she had seen Hojo running.

As Eve trudged down the hallway, they ended up running into a few more monsters, but nothing the phoenix could not take care of quickly. Eve had been following the bird for over half an hour since it seemed to be showing her the way. She barely had the strength to put one foot in front of the other, and there were several times she had to stop and lean against the wall to allow a wave of fatigue or dizziness to pass. She was almost lost in a fog again when she was wrenched from it by the bird circling her head with screeches.

She stopped and looked at the thing like it had gone mad, but when it circled again, she realized it was trying to get her attention. She noticed it flew to one side of the hallway and then back to her repeatedly. She finally moved to see what it was trying to show her. As she placed her hand on the wall, she nearly fell over when a panel slid back and to the side to reveal a hidden elevator.

Eve had never been so happy to see one in her life. Even if it took her straight up to the 67th floor, it was a way out. When she entered it, there were only two buttons. One up and the other down. She hadn't noticed anything that would lead her to believe they were up, so she assumed they were in the bowels of the Shinra headquarters. She was relieved when she hit the up button and felt the box move. As much as she wanted to drop to the floor and wait for it to take them wherever it was going, she knew she still couldn't afford to let her guard down. She compromised by leaning against the wall to help support herself and the weight she carried.