THE NIGHTHAWKS
"I'm going out mom!"
"All right, honey. Have a good time, and oh, can you pick up some bread on the way home? We need some for dinner."
"Sure mom."
Aeris closed the door behind her and started down the street, folding her arms across her chest for warmth. In spite of her coat she was still cold. Not unusual for February in Midgar. Even in the summer it felt cold here. In winter, the conditions were almost artic. There was no snow here, of course, the plate protected from that, at least, but icicles hung from the windows of most homes, and a freezing wind gusted through he streets. The downside of having the plate above them was that they were deprived of what little warmth the sun might convey. In winter the wind almost always blew from the north, coming in over the ocean from the northern continent. Situated on an open plain, Midgar had no protection. The city was just placed badly geographically, though most people, if asked, would say the cold weather was the curse of the Gods on those below the plate, and had nothing at all to do with location.
The young Cetra walked quickly, not wanting to be out in this cold any longer than necessary. There weren't many people on the streets, she suspected for the same reason she wasn't anxious to be here herself. Nevertheless, the cold didn't stop her. She still had to tend to her plants. Though most were dormant in the winter, a few hardy species still bloomed, but to do so they needed almost daily attention.
She had walked about two blocks when she heard the shots.
She stopped. The sound had come from in front of her, four or five shots in rapid succession. It hadn't sounded very far away.
She looked ahead, but the street was deserted. She couldn't tell, of course, exactly where the sound had come from, or how far away it was. She hesitated. It wasn't that common to hear shots during the day. A night almost never went by without hearing a few, but in the day things seemed to be calmer. The night, for obvious reasons, brought out the thieves, the thugs and the gangs, but that didn't mean that nothing ever happened during the day at all. Whether day or night, this was the slums of Midgar after all. Here a person was never completely safe.
She looked back the way she had come, wondering if her mother could hear the shots. If so she would be worried. The prudent thing to do would probably be to return home. Whatever was going on, she certainly didn't want to end up in the middle of it. Just because she was not a member of a gang, and had nothing to do with whatever might be happening, didn't mean she was safe. She had heard plenty of times about a stray bullet that had killed someone around here who had merely been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
However, she knew if she returned home her mother would certainly not let her go out again today. She would be too worried. Aeris turned around to look ahead of her once more. She listened for several more minutes, but heard nothing save the mournful sound of the wind funneling between the houses on either side of her. She was barely a block from the church, much closer to it than to home. She would be safe there. No one ever disturbed the place, and besides, she still had to tend the flowers. She didn't want them all to die.
She reached the church without incident, though by the time she did she could hear the wail of sirens, again, not too far away. Whatever was happening, it must be important. Shinra didn't often make its presence felt here in the slums. There was no ambulance service down here, no emergency vehicles except for fire engines. Apparently Shinra was perfectly willing to let the people of the slums die, but didn't want any fires that might get out of hand and spread to the upper plate. The siren could only mean Shinra security forces were in the area, or soldiers.
Either way, it made no difference to her. It was none of her business. Shinra had held her captive for almost six years. She was well aware of how ruthless the people there could be. Even so, she wasn't a political person. She didn't think much of how Shinra treated the people here. She didn't consider it wrong, or unfair. It was just the way life was.
There was no heat inside the church. The place was run down, abandoned. It should have been as cold inside as out, or nearly so, but for some strange reason, that wasn't the case. It was decidedly warmer in the church than outside. She didn't know why, anymore than she knew why flowers grew here and here alone below the plate. By all rights the place should be a freezer, where nothing could grow. It was another thing she didn't understand and didn't question.
She looked around slowly. Something was... wrong.
At first she didn't see anything. She could see no indication of anything unusual. She wasn't sure how long the church had been here. As long as she could remember, at least. She had been just a child the first time she had come here. She couldn't remember exactly how old. Certainly no more than nine of ten. She didn't recall what drew her to the place. She assumed it had been just childish curiosity at the time. It had been winter then as well. She remembered how cold it had been out, and how strangely warm she had felt once inside the church. The place had seemed somehow comforting. It had been abandoned even then. It had somehow escaped the vandalism that befell all the other abandoned buildings in the sector, and though it hadn't been vandalized, that didn't mean that time hadn't taken it's toll. The church was badly in need of repair. Most of the timbers holding it up were clearly rotted. The ceiling looked like it could way at any moment. The placed creaked precariously and swayed whenever the wind blew. Occasionally plaster or pieces or wood or glass fell from the ceiling unexpectedly. The entire building was an accident waiting to happen.
There was no plaster on the floor this time, but there was something else. She walked over until she stood right over it. Glistening drops of crimson.
There was a line of them, irregularly spaced. They ran between the pews and the wall, not down the center isle, where she would have noticed them immediately. Her head shifted slowly, following them. They ran from the front door, past the flowers into the back room, or perhaps from the back room to the front door. She couldn't say for sure, but she suspected the former.
She bent down, looking at the drops without touching them. They hadn't been here yesterday, she was sure of that. In fact, from the look of them, she suspected they hadn't been here long at all.
She stood up again, walking slowly toward the back room. She held her rod in her hand, but she didn't think she would need it. She didn't think about whether going in the back was a good idea. She didn't think who might be back there. The only thought that occurred to her was that someone might need help.
Her trek was interrupted however, by a commotion near the entrance before she had taken more than a few steps.
She turned around to see three Shinra soldiers stomping into the church.
"Who are you?" one of them demanded as soon as they laid eyes upon her. Instinctively she stepped toward the center of the room, away from the blood.
The three of them walked over and stood in front of her. The man who had spoken stared at her, while the others looked around the church slowly. One of them spied the flowers nearby.
"What the hell?" he blurted out.
The man in front of her looked at his companion, obviously annoyed at being interrupted, then at the flowers, whereupon his annoyed looked was replaced by a frown.
"Flowers," he muttered. "Here?"
One of the men walked over and stooped down beside a holly plant, reaching out and touching the leaves.
"It's real, Captain," he stated.
"Flowers growing below the plate?" the man who hadn't spoken yet stated. "In February no less? How is that possible?"
"I don't know," the man by the holly said. He looked at Aeris. "Are you responsible for these?"
"We're not here to talk about flowers," the Captain said, obviously deciding he needed to assert his authority. "Now what is your name Miss?"
"Aeris Gainsborough," the young Cetra replied.
"Why are you here?" the man said.
"I come here to relax," she replied.
The Captain frowned at her.
"Seems like a strange place to come to relax," he commented.
"It's peaceful here," he replied. "No one bothers me, and the flowers..."
The Captain looked suspiciously at the flowers once more, as if convinced they were some kind of illusion. Finally he decided it wasn't important.
"How long have you been here?" he demanded.
"I'm not sure," she said. "About an hour."
She had no watch, yet she was well aware she couldn't possibly have been here that long.
"Did you see any strange people come by?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"I haven't seen anyone."
The Captain's eyes wandered around the room. Aeris stepped closer to the flowers to try to draw his attention away from the blood on the floor. He might not even notice it, or just think it's old, but she couldn't take the chance.
"Should we take a look around?" the man by the flowers asked, standing up again.
"How do we know she's not one of them?" the other man asked. "There was a girl with them."
"No, she wasn't dressed like this," the Captain replied slowly, his gaze returning to Aeris. "She had shorter hair too, and it was blonde. Didn't you pay any attention to the reports?"
"No sir, I mean, yes sir," the man said, obviously a bit befuddled. "Sorry sir."
The Captain turned to look at Aeris again.
"You should go home, miss. There are dangerous criminals in this area. Three people broke into a Shinra power station and attempted to sabotage it. They killed two guards while making their escape. They were last seen just two blocks away."
Aeris nodded.
"Thank you for the warning," she stated. "I don't think anyone will bother me here though. No one seems to even notice this church exists."
The Captain looked down at her, at the rod in hands, and the expression on his face suggested he didn't think that would be of much use if any trouble developed, even if she knew how to wield it at all. However, he had more important things to do than worry about one girl from the slums.
"Very well," he said. "I suggest you at least remain inside then. If you see anyone suspicious find a Shinra soldier and tell them immediately. There should be plenty around, at least until we catch them. The area is sealed off, but these rats know all the hidey-holes. They've slipped through the cracks before."
"Don't worry," Aeris replied. "I don't want those kind of people around here either. If I see anything I'll let someone know."
The Captain nodded, then turned to his men, who both seemed fascinated by the flowers.
"Let's move out," he exclaimed.
The men jumped to attention. With one more look at Aeris, the Captain led them out the door.
Aeris let out a breath of air, feeling herself relax. She had been deathly afraid they would insist on searching the place, or at least notice the blood. The Captain had seemed like a decent sort, but she had no qualms about what might happen if they discovered someone here. Suspicion would immediately fall on her. They'd be bound to at least take her to Shinra headquarters for questioning, and that would have been a disaster.
She stood there for a few minutes, listening to the silence, until she was sure the soldiers were gone, then she walked once more toward the back room.
She wasn't sure what she would find, but she still felt no fear. For all she knew, some kind of animal might had stumbled in here after getting hit by a car. She didn't know it was a 'dangerous criminal'. Even if she knew it was the people the Shinra soldiers were after, she felt no compulsion to give them away. She had enough experience with Shinra that she wouldn't hand anyone over to them without at least first hearing their side of the story.
She entered the back of the church and stopped, looking around and listening. The room back here was quite large. She didn't come back here much, and didn't even attempt to keep this place as tidy as the front. It would have been a daunting task for anyone. The roof back here was in even worse shape than out front. Debris that had blown in through the holes in it, and pieces of the roof itself, were scattered across the floor. Old furniture and corroded barrels lay strewn about, as if a giant had picked the room up and shaken it like a pair of dice. There were plenty of places for someone to hide.
Aeris lowered her gaze, looking down at the floor, and the telltale line that led right to a group of barrels in the corner of the room.
She walked slowly over to the barrels, not sure what she would find. She still wasn't scared, but she did hold her rod ready, just in case.
Her feet padded slowly along the floor, loud enough for her approach to be heard. If someone was there, she decided it would be better if she didn't surprise them.
"Is someone there?" she said calmly.
There was no reply.
She was only a few steps from the barrels now. The was a small space between each barrel. She saw a sudden movement there. She stopped.
She saw nothing more, but she could faintly hear a shuffling sound from behind the barrels. Just for a moment.
"I'm not going to hurt you," she said.
She took another slow step forward.
A figure suddenly sprang up behind the barrels, startling her. It was a girl. She looked to be no more than fourteen or fifteen. She had blonde hair, cut just to her shoulders, and raggedly, as if a knife instead of a scissor cut it. Her eyes were gray, set wide apart, and Aeris could see the fear she was trying to hide in them. She was wearing a black leather jacket, a dark maroon shirt, a man's shirt, and black jeans. The sleeve of the jacket was torn, as was one knee of her jeans. She stood with her back pinned against the wall, trying to stay as far away from Aeris as she could get, but also using the wall for support, trying to take the weight off her right leg. In her hand she held a small pen knife.
"Stay away from me," she snarled.
In spite of her warning, Aeris took a step closer. She could see the bottom of one of the girl's pant legs was stained with blood.
"You're hurt," Aeris pointed out.
"Whadda you care?" the girl snapped. "I said stay away from me or I'll cut ya!"
Aeris just stood there.
"I told you, I'm not going to hurt you," she said.
The girl was slowly sliding along the wall away from Aeris. Now she was out from behind the barrels, angling her way slowly toward the hallway that led to the back door. All the time, she kept her weapon pointed at Aeris.
"It's none of your damn business," she said. "I know you. You're that Cetra weirdo. Just stay away from me, I toldya!"
Aeris lowered her weapon.
"I can help you," she said.
"I don't need any help!" the girl yelled. "Now don't come any closer or I'll slice ya up!"
Aeris just stood there. The girl was only a pace away. She looked exhausted. Aeris was pretty sure she could disarm the girl with a single sweep of her rod.
"They're seaching for you, you know," Aeris said suddenly. "They were here, looking for you. If you go outside, you're bound to be caught."
"They weren't here," the girl countered. "I didn't see them."
"They were," Aeris insisted. "I sent them away. I told them no one had come in here."
The girl just stared at her for a moment.
"You're lying," she said finally.
"I'm not," Aeris replied.
The girl just looked at her. Aeris could see her leg was pretty bad. Blood ran freely from it, pooling on the floor. It seemed she couldn't put any weight on it at all.
"You're not going to get very far like that," Aeris pointed out.
"It's none of your business," the girl stated again. "I don't need any help from you. My friends will take care of me. Just leave me alone."
The girl continued to back away, heading for the door but not taking her eyes off Aeris. She was only a few steps from the hall when her leg suddenly gave way and she fell to the floor.
Aeris covered the distance between them in a moment. She stooped down to examine the girls leg. It was bleeding profusely from what looked like a gunshot wound just below her knee.
"What are you doing?" the girl exclaimed. "I told you to stay away from me!"
Aeris ignored her. She lowered her head, concentrating.
"Leave me alone" the girl said sharply. She tried to pull away but she was already backed against the wall.
Aeris didn't answer. She hadn't used this power much since Tseng had revealed it to her. She had a feeling it wasn't something you used on minor cuts, and she hadn't had all that much reason to use it otherwise. Occasionally she had though, enough for her to become considerably more proficient at it than she had been that day she had first used it.
A moment later a warm breeze stirred the debris around them.
At the same time the girl looked around wildly.
"What are you doing?" she demanded again. "I said stay away from me, ya Cetra freak!"
Her hand lashed out. Something struck Aeris cheek, making her head turn. She fell back, landing in a sitting position with just a few feet separating them. The girl was staring at the young Cetra. Her arm had been extended, but now she slowly retracted it. She still held her small knife, and there was blood on the tip.
Aeris hand came up to her cheek, which felt wet to her touch. She hadn't felt any pain, but now it started to pulsate through her cheek. When she lifted her hand away, it was covered with blood.
The girl's eyes dropped to look at her leg. Tentatively she lifted it a few inches in the air. She didn't seem to be suffering from any pain anymore. Her head lifted and she looked at Aeris.
"What did you do to me?" she said, and for the first time, her voice did not hold any menace, only surprise and puzzlement.
Aeris covered the wound on her face with her hand again.
"I told you I could help you," she replied. She stood up, looking around for something to staunch the flow of blood with. There was nothing in this room to use. There were some old rags on the floor, but she wasn't about to use one of them. Finally she reached back and loosed the ribbon tied in her hair. She held it to her cheek as her hair fell loosely about her shoulders. She had plenty of other ribbons. The girl was still sitting on the floor, just looking at her.
"How did you do that?" she said, breaking the silence.
"I'm not sure," Aeris replied truthfully. "I just can."
The girl seemed to ponder that for some time, then she nodded toward Aeris wound.
"Why don't you do it to yourself?"
"I can't," Aeris replied. "It's hard to do. If I do it once, I can't do it again for a while."
There was no bitterness in Aeris voice, no sign at all that she blamed the girl for her injury. The girl did not seem to know what to make of this.
"It wasn't my fault you know," she said. "I told ya not to come near me."
Aeris did not respond.
"I didn't ask for any help!" the girl continued, sounding angry at Aeris non-response.
"What's your name?" Aeris asked.
The girl hesitated a moment, obviously not expecting that question.
"None of your business," she snapped finally.
"I'm Aeris," the young Cetra replied without hesitation, as if she had been expecting that reply.
"Good for you," the girl said. "Like I said, I didn't ask for any help, so don't expect me to say thanks. I'm just gonna be on my way now."
She stood up, or tried to, but as soon as she put weight on her right leg it gave way again.
"It's not healed, at least, not completely," Aeris spoke up. "It was a very serious wound. I did what I could for it, but you're still badly hurt. I don't think you'll be able to walk for a while yet. Why don't you just rest."
"Why don't you just shut yur trap?" the girl snapped. "I came her to get away from those soldiers, not to listen to you preach!"
She glared at Aeris, but if she was trying to provoke some sort of response, she failed. The young Cetra just looked her up and down for a moment.
"Do you want something to eat?"
"What?"
"Do you want something to eat?" Aeris replied. The girl looked thin, her clothes were obviously old and well worn. She looked like she was living on the street. "You look like you haven't had a decent meal in a while."
"I don't want any hand outs!" the girl snapped. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
Aeris lifted the ribbon off her face and looked at it. Her wound was still bleeding.
"I'm going back to my house. I'll bring back something to eat. You can stay here and wait, or you can crawl out of here and try to avoid all the Shinra guards looking for you. It's up to you."
She turned and walked away. The girl behind her said nothing as she left the room. Aeris hadn't expected her to. The young Cetra walked through the front of the church and out the door once more. It was as cold as ever outside. She made her way back to her house, the cold stinging the wound on her cheek. A number of times she saw Shinra soldiers on the street, some driving by in vehicles, others walking the streets, usually in pairs. They looked her over as they went by, but none stopped her. Less frequently, she saw another pedestrian.
She reached the front of her house and stopped. Once more she looked at the ribbon. The bleeding had almost stopped, but she still knew Elmyra would go ballistic if she saw the wound on Aeris face.
She bowed her head once more in concentration. She wasn't sure if she could do it again right now, but she also knew she couldn't go inside looking like this.
It was a bit more difficult this time, but eventually the healing wind swirled around her one more time. She felt a warm sensation in her cheek, and the dull throbbing pain ceased. When the breeze faded she lifted her hand to her face once more. She could still feel the line of the wound. It was much smaller, just a scratch probably, but it was not gone completely, and to her hand it still felt disconcertingly large. She didn't have a mirror of course, so she really couldn't judge, but she had a feeling it was still something her mother wouldn't miss. However, there wasn't anymore she could do about it at this point. She certainly couldn't stay out here forever.
Tossing her blood stained ribbon in the trash, she opened the door and walked in.
"I'm home!" she called out.
"So soon?" she heard Elmyra call out. She was hoping her mother would be upstairs, but the sound of her voice came from the kitchen, exactly where Aeris needed to go.
Elmyra stepped through the kitchen entranceway.
"Did you remember to get the bre..."
She stopped and looked at Aeris, who tilted the wounded side of her face away from her mother as she walked in, but Elmyra still somehow noticed right away.
"What happened to you?" she questioned. Walking over to Aeris, she took the girl's chin in her hand and turned it so that the wound was exposed.
"It's nothing," Aeris said, shaking her mother's hand off.
"Nothing?" Elmyra said skeptically.
"Nothing important," Aeris corrected.
Elmyra apparently didn't think so.
"Aeris..." she began.
"I'm not staying," Aeris cut her off. "I need to take some food over to the church."
She walked past her mother into the kitchen. Elmyra followed her in, the expression on her face far from cheerful.
"Aeris, what's going on?" she demanded.
Aeris opened a cabinet and looked inside. Elmyra waited impatiently for her to answer but she said nothing.
"Aeris!" Elmrya said.
"I told you, it's nothing important," Aeris replied. "There's someone at the church that needs some help. That's all there is to it."
"Someone at the church?" Elmyra said. "Who?"
"A friend."
"Was this friend the one who cut your cheek?" Elmyra said.
Aeris did not turn toward her mother.
"It...it won't happen again," she replied, grabbing a box of dried cereal.
Elmyra looked at her daughter in frustration. This wasn't the first time Aeris had done something she knew Elmyra wouldn't approve of, yet that never seemed to stop her.
"Did you hear the news?" she said. "Some terrorists attacked the Shinra power plant on thirty second street. Shinra soldiers are searching for them. They're supposed to be hiding somewhere in this area. It's on all the news stations."
Aeris looked around. Spotting a bowl of fruit on the kitchen table she extracted a banana.
Elmyra placed her hands on her hips.
"Are you listening to me at all?"
Aeris stopped.
"Yes, I'm listening," she said.
"Is this 'friend' of yours one of the people Shinra is after?" Elmyra questioned.
"I don't know, she wouldn't say. She wouldn't even tell me her name. Probably."
"These people are dangerous," Elmyra said, trying to remain calm. "They killed two guards."
"So Shinra says," Aeris responded. "We both know how worthy of trust they are."
"It was on the news!" Elmyra emphasized.
"Which is controled by Shinra," Aeris pointed out.
"If this person is so harmless, then what happened to your cheek?" Elmyra said, not able to keep the edge out of her voice.
Aeris hesitated.
Elmyra peered at her daughter's wound.
"It was worse. You used your healing powers on it, didn't you? I'm not stupid."
"I told you, it won't happen again," Aeris said finally.
"I don't want you to go back."
"I have to."
"Why?" Elmyra snapped, talking much louder than she intended. "Why must you put yourself in such danger?"
"She needs help, and she's a human being," Aeris replied.
Elmyra just stared at her, at a loss at what to do. On the one hand, she knew she didn't want Aeris to go anywhere near this other person. On the other hand, she also knew that all the pleading and cajoling in the world could not change Aeris mind once it was made up. Elmyra felt the urge to grab the food out of Aeris hands, to seize her arm and drag her up into her bedroom and lock her in there until she came to her senses. If she thought it would do any good, she might have done just that. Once before Elmyra had forbidden Aeris to go somewhere. It had been three years ago. A building had caught fire a block away. They could see the flames from their home. Aeris had become very agitated, saying she had to go help. It was late at night, and the body of a young girl had been found on the street the day before. Elmyra had forbidden her to leave the house. In spite of that Aeris had tried to leave anyway, and Elmyra had taken her up to her room, telling her if she even took so much as a step out of that room the entire night she'd be grounded for the rest of her life. Aeris had gone out the window. Elmyra had grounded her for three days, not quite the lifetime she had threatened her daughter with. The young girl had taken the punishment without complaint. Elmyra had planned on it being longer, but relented when she found out Aeris had healed the wounds of three seriously burned people. Not that anyone had seemed to notice. In spite of her help, the people still shunned her, still talked about her behind her back, about how she wasn't human, wasn't quite like 'us', even the one's she had healed. Aeris didn't seem to notice.
That was the problem. That was what made it so difficult. Aeris didn't defy her to go hang out with her friends, or to go out and party at some club. It that were the case it would be easy, Elmyra wouldn't have the slightest qualms about punishing her for that, but Aeris never did anything like that, never got in any trouble. She was always trying to help someone. How could you be mad at someone for something like that?
Even so, in spite of what good Aeris might do, Elmyra was always afraid something would happen to her. She didn't want her daughter to end up dead on the street, even if it was for a good cause.
Aeris turned and walked out of the room, apparently considering the conversation over. Elmyra followed her, feeling completely helpless, as she always seemed to when she argued with her daughter.
Aeris had reached the front door before Elmyra spoke again. "You can't save the world by yourself," she said, her voice holding a hint of both bitterness and sadness.
Aeris hesitated for just a moment.
"I'm not trying to save the world. I'm just trying to save one person," she replied. "Just one person."
Elmyra stood there, her hands twisting together nervously as Aeris opened the door. Whatever anger she had felt seemed to have all suddenly drained out of her.
"Aeris..."
The young girl turned around once more.
"I have to go," she said.
Elmyra nodded reluctantly.
"Be careful."
Aeris gave her a rueful smile.
"I will. I love you mom."
Then she was gone.
Elmyra walked over to the window. She parted the curtains, looking out to see her daughter walking quickly down the street. Elmyra knew Aeris was growing up, but it was hard to accept. Even now she seemed so small and helpless. It seemed only yesterday she had been running around the house, playing games on the living room carpet. Whatever was going to become of her?
Elmyra wiped the tears away from her eyes, but it didn't seem to help. They continued to flow as she stood there, even after Aeris had disappeared around the corner down the end of the block. For some reason she couldn't stop them, though whether she was crying for herself, or her daughter, or for everyone who lived in the slums of Midgar, she couldn't say.
The church was as quiet as ever when Aeris stepped back inside. She walked slowly toward the back room, wondering if the girl would still be there. It wouldn't surprise her if she wasn't. The girl didn't exactly seem like the trusting type.
She stepped into the back room, looking around. It appeared deserted.
"Are you alone?"
Aeris turned and saw the girl peering at her from behind the remains of an old organ.
"Of course," Aeris replied. She walked over to the girl and held out the things she had brought. The girl stared at her for a minute, looking at the food as if she suspected it was poisoned.
"Why are you doing this?"
Aeris just shrugged.
The girl reached out, tentatively, and took the items from Aeris hands. She began eating, slowly at first, but much faster once she got started, as if her fears of poisoning had been allayed. Aeris sat down on a fallen wooden beam beside her.
"What's your name?" Aeris tried again.
The girl was busy wolfing down the dried cereal Aeris had brought. She swallowed and eyed Aeris suspiciously.
"I have to call you something," Aeris prodded.
"You can call me Mouse," the girl said finally. "Not that it matters. I don't plan on being around here long enough for us to become buddies. My friends will be looking for me as soon as things cool down out there."
"Your friends?" Aeris stated. "You mean the one's who sabotaged that power plant?"
"We didn't sabotage it," the girl responded angrily. "The Nighthawks aren't terrorists. We were stealing electricity."
"The Nighthawks?" Aeris said slowly.
The girl paled.
"If ya know what's good for ya, you'll forget you ever heard that name," she said.
Aeris pushed her hair back over her shoulder.
"It's none of my business," she said, unconcerned; "but what do you mean, stealing electricity?"
"What are you, stupid or something? Just what I said. We hook up some lines to a transformer in the power plant, and then run them outside. We can run an entire block of homes off of it, and Shinra doesn't usually find out about it until they do an energy audit, and that could be up to a month later, if we're lucky. They got people monitoring the power levels who should notice, but they usually don't. Normally it works like a charm, but we got caught this time."
Aeris looked at her curiously.
"A block of homes? What homes? Yours?" She hadn't thought the girl had a home.
"Anyone who needs it," Mouse responded. "Shinra rates are so high, most people around here can't afford them. If you don't pay, they don't think twice about cutting you off, even if it means you don't have any heat. They don't care. All they're interested in is profit. Didya know that thirty percent of the power from the reactors is sent to Junon and Costa del Sol because those cities pay a premium for it, even though there are areas of the slums that are desperate for it?"
Aeris didn't reply for a moment. She was surprised at how earnest Mouse suddenly sounded, after seeming so callous just a short time ago.
"You seem surprisingly well informed," she said slowly.
"Well, Marcus knows all about that stuff," Mouse replied.
"Marcus?"
Mouse's mouth closed. She looked around suddenly, and Aeris could almost feel the suspicion return.
"I shouldn't be telling ya any of this," Mouse said. "I've got a big mouth. If Marcus finds out I said anything to you I'm really going to be in trouble, and so will you. I need to get out of here."
The banana peel and box lay on the ground now, both picked clean.
"I didn't see as many Shinra soldiers on my way back here," Aeris stated. "You can probably leave soon, but you won't be able to walk very well with..."
She stopped, turning her head. Mouse heard it to, the sound of footsteps in the front room.
"Someone's here," Aeris hissed. "Hide. I'll go see who it is."
Mouse needed no prodding, but was already quietly slipping back behind the old organ.
Aeris stood up and made her way toward the front room. Could the Shinra soldiers have come back? If they hadn't found anything, maybe they would decide a search of the church was warranted.
She stepped into the front room. Two people were standing near the entrance, looking around. One was an adult, his dark hair cut military style, but he was not dressed as a soldier. The other a teenager, looking just a little older than Mouse. He had thin aquiline features and was squinting around himself with a frown on his face. They both wore leather jackets that looked identical to Mouse's.
They tensed for a moment when they noticed her.
"Who are you?" the boy questioned sharply.
"My name is Aeris," the Cetra replied.
The boy stepped forward. He looked at Aeris darkly.
"What are you doing here?" he questioned.
"Are you looking for someone?" Aeris responded.
The adult frowned.
"What makes you say that?" he questioned.
"Marcus."
Aeris turned around and saw Mouse standing in the hallway, leaning against the wall. For a moment they all just looked at one another.
"You let her find you?" Marcus said finally.
"I didn't let her," Mouse said, her voice missing all of the bravado it had when she had talked to Aeris. "I was wounded. My leg. She saw the blood. But that doesn't matter. She helped me. She hid me from the soldiers and healed my leg."
"Be quiet," Marcus commanded. His voice sounded calm but had an edge to it that Aeris didn't like. Mouse shut up immediately.
"You know the rules," Marcus continued. "No one must know about us. She's seen our faces, she knows who we are. We can't chance her giving that information to Shinra."
"I told ya, she helped me!" Mouse insisted. "She hid me from Shinra troops."
"It doesn't matter!" Marcus said harshly, staring at Mouse. "Even if she didn't turn you over, she knows. We can't chance Shinra questioning her and finding out about us. We can't chance anyone giving us away or we're all dead. Besides, this is that Cetra. I've seen her around. She's the one who's buddies with that Turk, Tseng."
Mouse turned and looked at Aeris.
"He's not my friend," Aeris said. "He wants me to go back to Shinra headquarters with him so Hojo can perform some kind of experiments on me. I've always told him no, but he won't leave me alone."
Marcus' expression remained unchanged.
"So you say."
"It's true," Aeris replied calmly.
"She healed me Marcus," Mouse spoke up again. "She healed my wound. Why would she do that if she was going to betray us?"
"I told you, it doesn't matter," Marcus replied. "Even if she won't betray us, we can't take the chance. What we are doing is more important than one person's life. You know that as well as I do."
He turned to look at the young man beside him.
"Riley. Kill her."
Riley pulled back his jacked to reveal a long knife thrust through his belt. He pulled it out and advanced on Aeris, looking more than willing to carry out Marcus' order.
"Riley, no!" she heard Mouse say behind her.
Riley wasn't listening. He lunged forward, aiming a vicious stab at Aeris chest. The young Cetra deftly stepped aside. She swept the rod forward and down, connecting with the back of Riley's leg. He fell unceremoniously to the floor.
Aeris stepped back, rod ready.
Riley gave her a look of pure hatred as he pulled himself to his feet.
"You're going to pay for that, bitch."
He moved toward her again, much more cautiously this time.
"Riley, leave her alone," Mouse called out.
"Shut up!" Marcus snapped.
This time Riley feinted to the left, then slashed the knife toward her stomach. With a blur of motion the rod swung through the air again. There was a clang, and Riley's knife flew from his hand.
Riley stared at his now empty hand, and then at her.
A sudden commotion at the front of the church made them all look in that direction. Another young man ran in. He stopped and pointed outside. "Marcus, Shinra soldiers are right down the road and headed this way!"
It took Marcus but a moment to assess that. He turned to look at Aeris and Riley.
"We don't have time for games," he said.
He reached into his jacket, drawing out a gun.
Aeris turned and ran.
Fortunately, her battle had placed her right near the hallway to the back room. She heard the crack of a gunshot, the splintering of wood on the wall beside her head testament to how close it was, then she was in the back room, the wall between them, safe for the moment.
She knew the moment wouldn't last long. She sped across the room, up the rickety staircase that led up to the attic. She didn't look back, but the sound of another shot was enough to tell her that Marcus was not far behind.
She reached the upper platform, disappearing from view of those below. She stopped suddenly. She hardly ever came up here, but she did enough to know that there were some places where the wooden floor creaked and groaned if stepped on, which would give her exact position away to those below. Besides that, the flooring was rotted, right through in spots. Stepping in the wrong place would send her plunging to the floor below. She moved slowly, making her way carefully towards the back of the church. She didn't rush. If anyone came up the stairs, she would surely hear them. They might think they had her trapped, but she knew there was a hole in the roof near the back of the church. If she could reach it, she could escape.
She could hear the footsteps of the others below her.
"The soldiers are almost here!" she near the newcomer tell the others.
There was a slight pause, then Riley's voice.
"Let me go up and get her," he said. "It won't take me a minute. I'll make sure I get her this time!"
Again there was silence. Aeris continued to slowly move towards the back of the church.
"No," she finally heard Marcus say, his voice so soft she could barely make it out. "There's no time."
She heard more footsteps. It sounded like they were all moving toward the back exit. She stopped. She could see movement through a crack in the floorboards. Peering closely, she could make out Marcus standing near the back exit. He was holding Mouse in his arms. He looked around slowly. Aeris ducked down.
"We know who you are," Marcus called out. "If you tell anyone anything about what happened here, we'll hunt you down and kill you. Do you hear me, keep your mouth shut or we'll kill you."
He paused for a moment, perhaps for effect, perhaps waiting for some kind of response. Aeris remained quiet. When she peered through the crack again, they were gone.