Across the Divide and Through Valhalla

Outside at Last

Chapter 4

Sherry heard a couple of excited voices behind her and smiled. When she stood, however, she had to keep from jumping again. Sephiroth had come up next to her and was looking down. He looked back at her with a blank look, and his voice didn't betray anything either. At least his words were polite. "I can jump down as well. Genesis and I can assist the rest of you."

She gave him a nod. "Thank you. It would be appreciated."

He didn't wait for any further response before jumping down to join Genesis. They both looked up expectantly. She turned to figure out how the rest of them would get down, but Zack and Cloud moved past her with just a smile as they both jumped as well. Caius and Noel moved to start climbing down as soon as the way was clear. That left her at the top with Kaylan. She gave her friend a smile and squeezed her hand. "I'm sure we can find a way down as soon as Caius and Noel are out of the way."

She gave her a nod, but they both jumped when Genesis called up. "Jump. I will catch you. It isn't that far."

She glowered at him over the edge. "Maybe not, but I've already broken one bone today. I don't want to take the chance of it happening again."

He looked at her with consternation, but it was Sephiroth that spoke up. "He is correct. Neither of us would allow you to fall. You can both jump instead of trying to find footholds. Besides, there are a good seven feet of open air where the other tunnel travels below the one we were in."

She hadn't realized one of the tunnels ran directly below them as well, but it would mean that they would have to jump the last bit even if they did climb down. She took a deep breath and turned to Kaylan. "I trust that they won't hurt us. Do you want to go first, or do you want me to?"

The girl gave her a wide-eyed stare. "I don't want to jump at all, but I will if you can prove it won't hurt."

Sherry laughed at her tone. She was glad to see that she had gotten past the shock. "Fine, I'll go first. Just don't take too long after I'm down." She waited for Kaylan to nod and then called out to the ones waiting below. "Ok, I'm jumping now."

She took a step forward but hesitated. When she heard a grumble coming from the gathered men, she finally sighed and jumped. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She maneuvered her body so that she would land on her feet if they did miss her, but it wasn't even a full second before she collided with something that forced out a grunt. She opened her eyes to see red leather and black knit. When she was jostled and then let down, she realized he must have jumped to meet her. She blushed slightly when she realized his arms were still around her waist. She didn't comment, though. Instead, she pushed away and turned to look up. The distance seemed much farther from this angle, but she wasn't going to say that right before Kaylan jumped. She tried to keep her voice even. "I'm safe. Go ahead and jump."

She stepped back as Genesis once again jumped up slightly to meet Kaylan midair and then set her down. He steadied her once he let go but quickly turned to Sherry. "You said from this point we should be able to follow the arrows out?"

She moved to where he had been standing previously and smiled at the arrow she found before turning back to him with a nod. "Yes, that is exactly why I put them there."

She caught Sephiroth giving her an evaluating look, but she ignored it and grabbed Kaylan's hand. "I'm ready to clean off. Let's get out of here." They all fell into step again, but at least the girls were in a visibly better mood. Sherry's mind was a little lighter. It was still full trying to sort everything out, but it no longer held the worry she had been trying to ignore, that they might end up trapped.