The Fallen Chapter 18
By Tiger
Did I mention, Zack said, sounding even more
nauseous than he had a few minutes ago, that I hate water?
The two of them were wading through water that was coming up to the point
of their knees, and it was becoming even more of a concern with each passing
second. There was something unnatural about the speed it was rising, and
neither of them had any real idea how much longer it would be until they
got to the well Aeris had told them of, limited because the only light they
had was supplied by the dimly flickering piece of wood that Zack had managed
to grab before the earlier fires had fully gone out
That problem, at least, they hoped to change.
The maintenance room was exactly what youd expect besides for the fact
there was a foot and a half of water filling the bottom of it. Mops floated
around their waists, along with bottles of cleaning solvent, a few tools,
and of course the ever present smell of ammonia. Rufus especially seemed
to notice this, as every time he breathed in his nostrils flared and his
eyes would water just a little bit more. Nonetheless, he surged in front
of the Gonganan, half swimming his way up to a row of electrical breakers
that was thankfully still above the water.
God I hope this isnt locked... he muttered, and tried to
open it. There was a mechanical click, and the door pulled away from the
wall. He threw it open the rest of the way triumphantly, and instantly began
to turn every switch inside to the left instead of the right, apparently
heedless of the fact his hand was soaking wet. That was something Zack had
begun to notice about Rufus, his lack of fear of dying. While he did move
out of the way of things that would obviously kill him, he didnt seem
hung up on the little threats, as if he knew something specific would happen
before he died.
I wonder, thought Zack, if thats why he ended up dead the first
time.
A mechanical hum started in the middle of his thought, barely hearable in
the distance, but rapidly increasing in volume as it stretched across a chain
of wires into rooms that were progressively closer to them. Finally the hum
struck home, and a series of blue, gloomy lights lit up all around them.
For a moment, Zack almost regretted the move, as he could now see better
than ever his waiting watery death, but he forcibly shoved those thoughts
aside. They werent helping, and hell, the added visibility would just
get them in and out of there faster. He pretended not to notice the water
was now distinctly above his knee cap.
They moved on, Rufus still leading the way, though Zack wasnt entirely
sure the man had ever truly visited this place during his reign as president.
Too damn good to visit the common folk, he guessed. Their progress was hindered
by dozens of floating objects in every room, as apparently the Shinra
construction crew didnt believe in metal, and nearly all the furniture
bobbed up and down like a cork. Thus, it took longer than either of them
would have liked to get through the office portion of the base, and get to
the machinery. By that time, the water was halfway up their
thighs.
The room in which the machinery was located was just that- one single, long
stretching room, filled with ghastly and dark looking towering behemoths
of steel and rusted iron. The emergency lights did nothing to detriment the
cemetery like scope of the room, and after all- it was close enough to a
cemetery in its own right. A slowly rusting monument to the Shinra of the
past, where they didnt just talk about things and clean shit up-
theyd gotten shit done. Sure, in the end, it had almost destroyed the
planet, but before that... business had been taken care of.
Zack had voiced concern that the machines would short circuit, and considering
the entire compounds floor was just a massive conductor, would fry them like
shrimp in less than a second. Rufus had reassured him, rather scornfully,
that it was an underwater compound- and of course they had safe guarded against
such a thing. Zack had asked a follow up question about whether or not they
had safe guarded against fire spewing mutants, and Rufus had simply clammed
up and continued wading, using handles and pipes emitting from the machines
to speed up progress.
Well... Rufus said, after what seemed like an eternally slow
trek of walking, this is where she said.
The two of them looked around, and saw nothing that would indicate a massive
hole beneath them, and neither was willing to just walk around and use their
only indication as the moment when they suddenly went dropping a hundred
feet straight down. It had, of course, been an unspoken fear that the well
had been completely filled with water, which means they would either need
to find some sort of scuba gear- which, Rufus had assured him, would not
exist in the compound- or turn around and go home in disgust, to calmly await
the end of the world.
Instead of falling, however, they instead managed to successively slam their
foot into the hole. If that didnt make any sense to you reading it,
let me explain- they slammed their feet into a large, raised, concrete ring,
topped with a massive circular valve. Muttering curses from entirely different
cultures, they braved the bottom depth of the water for a few minutes to
peer closer at the structure, and were relieved to see that the top was only
a few inches below the surface of the pale water.
I just thought of something... Zack said
slowly.
Hm? Rufus asked idly, testing the strength of the valve with
a quick twist. It held tight.
When we open this, wont it fill with water? he
asked.
Yes. Rufus said, with a shrug. Zack froze.
Then what the hell are we doing this for? he said,
panicked.
Because... Rufus said, as if it should be obvious, its
wide enough that it will take quite a while to completely fill. By the time
it takes us to get to the bottom, it should barely be above our heads. If
these things were looking for are right below the surface, we have no
problem.
Right... said Zack, not even close to convinced. And if
your obviously well researched calculation, you know, the one you just pulled
out of thin air, is wrong, then what?
Then, said Rufus, indicating for Zack to give him a hand with
the valve, we die.
Ah, said the Gonganan, and together the two of them twisted with
all their might, managing to defeat both the air vacuum, the water pressure,
and the good old fashioned rust enough to pry the heavy lid from the top
of the well. Instantly the few inches of water that remained above the top
dropped down, and began to pour in from all sides, but Zack saw that Rufus
was right- they would have time, albeit not much, to do what they needed
to do.
The two shared a long look, wasting precious second as liquid went pouring
into the hole. Well, they said, not exactly together, but close
enough that it didnt matter. They were sharing the same
thought:
After you.
You know... Rufus said slowly, after a while. You probably
have about twenty pounds on me. If you fell on me, I would fall a lot more
than you would if the tables were turned.
Zack snorted. So? he snapped, those twenty pounds are muscle
thats going to *stop* me from falling down, unlike you, who will probably
slip instantly.
They had a momentary standoff, and then stared back into the hole. Off to
the side of the concrete drop, there seemed to be a ladder built straight
into the wall, though the water was cascading right down on top of it. Muscles
or not, this was going to be one hell of an unpleasant trip down.
How about we arm wrestle for it? Zack suggested
mildly.
Yeah... Rufus agreed, or not. How about we argue accounting
irregularities?
Zack gave him a blank look, not really sure if he was kidding or not. However,
he figured that all the time they were talking like this was just giving
him more water he was going to have to work through, so he might as well
just show up Rufus. Without another word he grabbed the edge of the valve
and swung himself down, letting go and easily catching the ladder before
he plummeted thirty or so yards. He let out a low groan as his stomach slammed
into the lower bars, but instantly began his slippery descent as water poured
down onto his head. At least Rufus would act as a block for
that...
Ten quick rungs down, Zack realized the water wasnt being blocked.
He looked up, and though the scene was blurred from the water cascading into
his eyes, he saw that Rufus had not yet left the upper level. Come
on! he yelled, we cant waste any time!
Rufus suddenly jerked in surprise, and looked around wide eyed, before locked
in on Zack. How the man had forgotten he was there in only a minute was beyond
the Gonganan, but Rufus seemed genuinely surprised to see him, not regaining
his composure nearly as fast as he usually did. Youre right,
he said simply, an odd- and quite disturbing- look coming into his eyes.
We cant.
And with that, he stepped over the edge.
Zack let out a cry as Rufus plummeted, arms flailing, past him like some
sort of white, wet ballistic missile, slowly slanting down towards the wall.
Just when he thought his companion was going to slam into the wall and rupture
like an over ripe fruit, his descent suddenly stopped, punctuated only by
a sickening sounding thump and a barely restrained growl of pain from Rufus.
Theatrics nowithsanding, Rufus had just topped Zacks entry into the
tube by about thirty rungs of the ladder, and now *Zack* was the one blocking
the water. It was at one hell of a price though... at the speed Rufus had
been going when he had snagged the ladder, Zack would be genuinely surprised
if he had any functioning ligaments left.
However, on the steady and cautious trip downward, it soon became apparently
the distance difference wasnt going to last long. Rufus was going
unnaturally slow, and they were only about halfway down (it seemed to Zack
that they had gone up and down the total distance about six times, but
thats besides the point) when Zack caught up to Rufus, and finally
heard the deep, strained breathing over the sound of the falling
water.
Hey man, he asked worriedly, you
OK?
...fine... Rufus grunted out slowly, and went to go another rung
down. His foot slipped on the slick metal, and he almost dropped, managing
to regain his footing a second before he fell.
What the hell did you jump like that for? Zack asked, genuinely
wondering. Hed had Rufus pegged for unbalanced, sure, but
suicidal?
...seemed like a good idea at the time... Rufus muttered, and
then burst out in a round of coughing.
Jesus Christ! Zack snarled, slowly stepping onto the side of
the ladder rungs and walking down them that way so he was level with Rufus.
Are you fucking insane?
For a moment, Rufus gave him a blank look. Im sorry? he
said, did we just meet a few seconds ago?
And with that, he left go of the rungs.
Twenty feet down, there was a splash of water, as Rufus hit the ever growing
swimming pool that was developing at the bottom of the tunnel. Rolling his
eyes, Zack followed him down, free falling all the way before hitting the
water. With every foot down theyd gone, the lights had been less and
less frequent, and now they were back once again to a dull and shimmering
reflection being their only source of illumination. They used it the best
they could to look around, and saw... absolutely
nothing.
OK... said Zack slowly, kicking his legs to stay floating. And
now what?
For a moment, even Rufus seemed lost. Well... he said, now
we dig.
This was easier said than done, as the water had risen a good eight feet
from the surface of sand and mud, and it wasnt exactly like they had
brought a steam shovel along with them. Instead, they took turns diving down,
Rufus with chilled calmness, and Zack with barely contained panic, to probe
into the ground beneath them. Every time they came up empty handed, and every
time the water just used the delay caused by their failures to get deeper
and deeper. Twenty minutes later, Zacks nerves were frayed to the end,
and he suddenly screamed in frustration. This isnt fucking possible!
I dont know if you have a few extra lungs, but I dont, and I
cant hold enough air to get these damn things!
At his words, Rufuss eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly pulled off
his long white coat. He stretched the sleeve out from the body of the jacket,
and held it out to Zack. Cut it, he said, right at the
seam.
Not really having the energy or the time to argue, Zack hefted his sword
and brought it down, severing fabric from fabric. As soon as he did, Rufus
held out the other sleeve, which he cut in turn. Instantly Rufus set to tying
the end of both tubes of fabric into knots, and Zack began to see his plan.
Displaying the ingenuity of an especially over the top Magiver episode, Rufus
blew air into each of the sleeves, then held the ends tightly in his fist,
trapping the oxygen inside.
You know, he said, if this doesnt work, were
screwed.
Zack snorted. Weve been screwed from the start. We might as find
out how bad so we can get out of here, one way or
another.
Rufus seemed to agree with that, but still seemed trouble. This is
the second jacket Ive lost in, like, two days. He
muttered.
Yeah, well, once again... Zack said in exasperation. This
fails, we die, the jacket isnt that important. Besides, chicks go for
the sleeveless look.
Right, said Rufus, and disappeared beneath the water, disappearing
from view almost immediately. Zack distracted himself from the water all
around him by counting the seconds that his companion had been submerged,
mental time keeping being a skill that had been stressed during Soldier training.
Forty seconds was the average holding time for breath, less when you were
exerting yourself by swimming under water. Forty seconds passed and no sign
of Rufus, and there was no way those little air pockets could have held more
than a single full breath. Eighty seconds... Zack began to get worried. Between
digging, swimming, and rising back to the top... well, this was too long.
Taking a deep breath of his own, Zack plunged beneath the water, to see what
was keeping Rufus...
...only to see that he wasnt there. Startled, Zack began to swim in
circles, hoping to hit something solid that would be Rufus. His hands worked
along the bottom, horror filling him, as he searched for a body. Instead,
he felt something hard, like metal, and clasped his hands around it. It was
heavy- maybe Rufus shotgun, Zack didnt know if hed left
it on the upper level or not. It was already soaked and therefore useless-
but seemed to have a bit of buoyancy to it as Zack kicked upwards, floating
to the top.
Rufus was waiting for him on the surface of the water, looking completely
exhausted. Couldnt, he gasped, taking huge inhaling breaths,
trying to restore some of the usual lack of color to his now bright red face,
find... them... he choked once, and coughed up a bit of
water.
Thats OK... said Zack, sudden revelation striking him as
he grabbed a rung of the ladder and used it to aid in hauling his load to
the surface. It was no shotgun. Instead it was a dark black chest, covered
in sand and grit, and Zack had hold of its handle. I could.
Rufus eyes widened.
Son of a bitch... he muttered, and grabbed the handle on the
other end. Together they hauled it up the ladder, step by step, agonizingly
slow as they were very aware that the water in the tunnel was pretty much
keeping up with them in their ascent. When they finally reached the top,
they simply rolled over the top of the valve and let the chest sink to the
level floor- which, they noticed in considerable horror, now had about four
and a half feet of water over it. They knew that they were working on limited
time, but they felt they owed themselves a quick break, which consisted mainly
of bobbing in the water and taking long, deep, and painful breaths. The only
real signal they had to keep going was when they both pressed their feet
to the ground, and realized that the water was now up to their
armpits.
We arent going to be able to hold this thing and swim for more
than a few feet, you know... Rufus said
slowly.
Yeah. Zack agreed. So we better get moving while we can
still touch the floor.
And so they did, one hand on each side of the chest, and running in awkward,
water logged steps back past the machinery room, and into the offices, which
actually caused more hopelessness in them than ever before. They could see
the elevator out in the distance, but it was more than a hundred yards away,
and already they had to breath on the higher points in their bounding steps,
because the lower had their mouths and noses submerged. Cursing, they shoved
onward, past the broken pipe that had started all of this to begin with,
where the water was deeper than ever.
They broke into an all out swim, barely keeping above the water with the
added weight of the crate holding them down. If theyd thought about
it, they would have taken the contents out earlier and left the extra weight
behind, but now- and possibly even then- they simply didnt have time
for it. The final stretch of hallway that led to the hallway was the narrowest
of them all, barely going above their heads when they had first walked in.
Only about six inches of open space was showing above the water when they
first entered, and even that was disappearing fast.
With a final burst of energy they made it to the elevator, and praying to
very different Gods that it would be able to rise filled with water- the
floor, after all, was just a hole filled sheet of metal. With only a few
inches of air left, they shoved the crate onto it, and slid in themselves.
Rufus made a diving leap for the lever and shoved it upwards as the last
of their breathing space disappeared, and with a slow groaning whine the
machination began to go skywards.
Come on, come on, Zack prayed with his eyes closed tight, dont let
me drown, Jesus dont let me drown... he didnt even both to look
to see if the water was draining out the bottom or not before leaping upwards
for air- after all, he would know in a minute anyway- and for a moment despair
hit him as he felt nothing but freezing water grace his lips- and then in
a feeling that was probably very much like being born, warm welcoming air,
which he sucked in greedily.
It took the entire trip upwards for the water to drain entirely from the
transport, and that trip was filled with Rufus and Zack taking amazingly
deep breaths, choking on water, gagging, and then repeating. They didnt
care that each breath brought on a horrible fit of coughing, it was *air*,
damnit, something they had very nearly been cut off from forever. With a
groan, Zack leaned back against the metal wall of the elevator, and his eyes
went to the chest.
You know what would suck? he said
weakly.
Everything we just did? Rufus
answered.
No... Zack said. If that just contained some construction
equipment or something.
Rufus eyes went wide in horror, and without answering him, he dove
at the chest, frantically pawing to get it open to see if they had just risked
their lives for absolutely nothing. What he saw on the inside, thank Bahumat,
assured him that they had not.
Wow... Zack said, peering into the chest, whos contents
were entirely dry. It contained two items one of which Zack had seen before-
the Ultima Weapon. Gawking at it, he slowly pulled it from the chest, admiring
the bright and glittering blue crystal that looked as fragile as glass, but-
as hed been told in Soldier training- could cut diamond like a piece
of cheese.
Rufus was slightly less impressed with the reward for his efforts. What
the hell is this? he asked quietly, staring at the item in his hand,
and then turned to Zack. What the hell is this? he repeated.
Zack looked over, tearing his eyes from his own weapon, and
blinked.
Uh... he said. I have no idea.
Rufus stared at him, exhausted anger in his
eyes.
Well... he muttered, placing the small object in the inside pocket
of his ripped jacket. Thats just fucking brilliant.