I have never felt a silence so dense as the seconds that followed.

My eyes never left the fortune teller’s face, who was still staring down with an amused, trace-like delirium at the Tarot card in her hand. My
surroundings had turned chillingly still, like a dark arctic tundra, and for a moment I found myself forgetting about everything but my confused
thoughts.

I took it upon myself to speak first.

"................................Wh...............what.....?" I stammered quietly, gazing over towards the woman across from me. ".................What........what did
you say...........?"

A loud shuffling came from the entrance behind me, and all at once I heard Tifa exclaim softly, ".....Oh, no, Vincent, come back....! Where are you
going...? Vincent....!"

I turned in time to see his dark form shove aside the tent flap and storm quickly outside, and Tifa and Cloud immediately directed their eyes to the
ground. I stared after Vincent for several seconds, then slowly turned to face the woman once again. Several more seconds of silence ensued,
and then gradually I felt a smile creeping up onto my face, followed by a fit of hysterical laughter that grew louder as it progressed. ".....Are....are
you insane??!" I choked breathlessly through my giggling. "...Re...reincarnation??! That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!! Imagine....me, a
reincarnation of some dead woman...! Hahahaha!! Lady, you’ve completely flipped!!" I got to my feet, shoving aside a hanging dream catcher,
and dusted myself off. "I’m outta here, I’m not going to listen to this crap for one more--"

"Do you accuse the spirits of lying?" the fortuneteller questioned nastily, glaring up towards my face.

"...Yeah, yeah, the ‘spirits’, lady. They always were the dishonest sort." I let out another amused laugh, then turned and headed towards the
entranceway. ".......Reincarnation.....that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever--"

"Deny the truth and those you love will perish." The woman casually shifted the cards before her into a neat pile, then slowly glanced up
towards me. "You believe that simply by ignoring it that it will all simply disappear...?"

"You’re out of your mind, you hear me??!" I snapped, whirling back around to face her once again. "Who could ever believe any of that rebirth
crap??"

"One that knows the truth..." The fortuneteller gently placed the deck back into the treasure chest beside her, gazing towards the ground.
"However, I should have expected that you would not believe. But when Rael finds you, all will come clear..."

"You are the--" I stopped suddenly, gazing down towards her. "........R....Rael....? Who’s--"

I was silenced as suddenly her head snapped up towards me, and all at once she raised her arms above her. "Do you hear??" she shrieked
loudly, closing her eyes. "The spirits....they despise the infidel!! They are demanding just punishment!! They screech for your blood!!"

I emitted a terrified scream and whipped my hands in front of my face as a powerful blast of wind lashed around my body and I could hear the
piercing noise of a choir of unearthly voices howling in my ear. I could feel the presence of numerous invisible beings swirling about me,
bellowing shrilly in my ears, clawing at my clothes.

I forced my eyes open, and all at once the windstorm stopped.

Panting, I slowly lowered my arms from before my eyes and gazed around me. The tent was unusually silent and dark, with the exception of
several wind chimes and dream catchers swaying lightly in the murkiness, and as my eyes fell to the pillow across from me I could tell that the
woman was no longer there.

                                              *****

He had not moved.

Vincent and I sat alone in the mechanical trolley as it moved silently down the wire, and behind me I could see the elaborate form of the Gold
Saucer gradually disappearing from sight. Tifa and Cloud had stayed behind to assist in the cleanup, but they had insisted that both Vincent and
I return back to his apartment. Vincent had remained silent since we had met up with him after departing from the tent, and now he even refused
to make eye contact with me at all.

I had been staring over at him for quite some time from across the trolley, but now I slowly directed my vision towards my feet. What’s he so
uptight about...? I thought, rather depressed. It was only some stupid fortune teller....it’s not like.....

"Y’know, it’s not the truth!" I suddenly piped up, then internally slapped myself for talking amongst my thoughts.

Vincent didn’t reply, but after a moment’s hesitation slowly shifted his gaze over onto my face.

".......Um....what...what I mean is, the fortune teller was wrong," I told him quietly, rubbing the back of my neck. "I’m....I’m not the reincarnation of
anyone, I’m really not. She just made all that up, I know she did..."

There was a second or two of silence, and then he brushed aside a strand of black hair that had fallen across his face. "............Oh, really.........?"

".....Well, you don’t believe any of that reincarnation crap, do you??" I asked him. "You know, being reborn as something else depending on
your actions in a past life......You really don’t think any of that’s true, do you??"

He stared over at me for several seconds, then shifted his gaze back out the window beside him. "......I guess not...."

Once again an eerie silence filled the trolley, and suddenly found myself growing rather impatient. "....Then why the hell do you keep actin’ so
weird for??!" I snapped nastily, standing up. "It’s bad enough you won’t even let me know who this damn woman is, but now you think that I
actually am her?! Why do you always act like there’s a stick up your ass??!"

He didn’t even look towards me, simply continued staring out towards the ground below, then slowly shut his eyes and exhaled a weary sigh.
"...........No, I guess you wouldn’t be Lucrecia, would you...?"

".........................H.....huh??" I blinked several times, gaping over at him, then slowly lowered myself back into a sitting position. Neither of us
spoke a word until the trolley reached the station.

                                              *****

I tugged lightly on the needle in my hands, yanking the thread through the clothing I held, then slipped it back through again with a rather
clumsy twist of my wrist. After Vincent and I had returned to the apartment, he had literally hung up his coat, taken off his boots, and walked
straight forward into his labyrinth of a library next to his bedroom without a word and had not emerged since. I had been left alone in the
shadowy living room, and after several minutes of shocked stillness I had slowly returned to sewing my lacerated street clothes. The room had
remained silent the entire while, and occasionally my eyes would shift over to the large window to my right, now stained with numerous bullet
holes scattered about the glass, out towards the city. The sun was now setting, coating the heavens with blurred streaks of varying pastels, and
faintly in the decreasing light I could see flakes of snow gradually beginning to drop to the streets once again. Other than that and my scarce,
awkward mending of my clothing, the world remained immobile, painted against a canvas of smeared colors.

"Goddammit!!" I hissed quietly to myself as there was a sharp spark in my left index finger and I could see small droplets of blood spattering to
the carpet. "Why is sewing so damn hard?? No wonder I decided against that job offer of a seamstress...." I lifted the garment in my hands up to
my face, eyeing the remaining incisions and grumbling at the clumsy stitching. "Oh well. So it looks like a horse’s ass. At least I should be able to
wear it..."

A rustling noise came from the hallway, and as a glanced upwards I met a pair of scarlet eyes staring down at my position on the floor. Vincent
glanced over at me expressionlessly, holding an open book in one hand and resting the other in his pocket. My body stirred internally from some
sort of unwanted tension at being watched so intensely beneath his stoic gaze, and slowly I shifted my eyes away from him towards the floor.
"......Hi..."

He didn’t react for a second, then slowly reached up and removed the pair of reading glasses from his face. "............I thought maybe I should
come out and see if you needed anything. Forgive me for being so isolated, but I’ve had a lot on my mind recently..."

"...........It’s all right," I replied monotonously, casually attempting to go back to my embroidery but realizing my hands had begun to quiver. "I’m
ok, you don’t need to worry. I’m just finishing up the stitching in my dress and then I think I’m going to bed. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,
and I feel really guilty about intruding on you like this. I....I think I’ll head back out to the streets tomorrow."

Once again he remained motionless for a second, then all of a sudden spontaneously slammed the book in his hand closed, and turned slightly to
the side, heading back towards the library. "......For the record...." he began composedly, casting a glance back over his shoulder down at me,
".......I’d prefer if you stayed."

I blinked several times, and then he took advantage of my silence and turned completely, walking back in the direction of the athenaeum. I stared
after him for several seconds, then raised a hand to my cheek and felt how hot it had grown. ".........What.....what’s the matter with you, Allie...?" I
scolded myself softly, gazing down at the needlework in my hands. "What are you getting so worked up about...? So he’s some lonely guy that
wants someone to keep company with........Why the hell is that making you blush....?"

                                              *****

"....Ugghh..." My body twitched involuntarily at the remaining bitter taste of a nightmare in my mind, then shifted over onto its opposite hip. I
clung to the blankets draped over my shoulders in an unsteady, shivering embrace and pulled them further up to my face, attempting to muffle
the vague shadows of unsettling dreams that still flickered behind my closed eyes. Faintly outside my subconscious I could hear the clock toll
three times, echoing in the silent hallway, and the sound of sleet ricocheting lightly on the window. "...Brrrrr...." A knifelike seism shot down my
spine, stirring my icy body awake and causing my eyelids to slowly flutter open. "...Nnn...?" I blinked incoherently several times, facing the back
of the scarlet couch directly before my eyes, then shifted up onto one elbow and gazed around. ".......Vincent’s apartment...." I whispered
hoarsely, pushing back several strands of hair that had tumbled across my face. ".....It was a dream.....all a dream...."

I was silenced as my aroused ears suddenly picked up a soft noise streaming quietly in arcs above my head, and as I forced myself to listen more
intently I could recognize the flapping of leathery wings. All at once I emitted a smothered scream and threw the covers over my head, ducking
protectively beneath the custody of the quilts around me. "Oh shit!!!" I cried, most likely much louder than I meant to. "Oh, shit!! Oh, God, kill me
now!! Oh, my God, don’t do this to me--!!"

I choked out another cry as suddenly someone seized the blankets above me and roughly tore them away, and I leapt up into a defensive sitting
position and covered my head with my arms. "..........Vi.....Vincent!!" I exclaimed loudly, distinguishing his pale complexion in the darkness.
"What...the...hell....!!"

"...I heard you scream," he interrupted, pushing aside the covers. "You scared me half to death, I thought you were in trouble. What’s the
matter??"

"What’s the matter??!" I echoed in disbelief, staring at his face. "What’s the matter??! Can’t you hear what’s the matter??! Are you deaf??!!!"

"...What...?" He glanced up at the ceiling, then noticed a small, dark shape circling around above him. "What in the--"

"It’s a bat!!" I shouted loudly, throwing my arms over my head once again. "Can’t you tell??! It’s a goddam ba-at!!!! Get it away from me,
please!!! Just get rid of it, Vincent--!!"

"....A......?" He stared up towards the airborne silhouette above his head, then slowly reached to the side, slipped the pillowcase off the cushion
beside me, and with one swift thrust upwards he managed to capture the bat and clench the top fringe of the bed linen to trap it inside. He held it
up by his face, watching the enclosed animal struggle around in a panic. "....This?" he asked doubtfully, holding the pillowcase over towards me.
"This is what you’ve been screaming about...?"

"Aaahhhh!! I said to get it away!!" I shrieked in alarm, covering my face with my hands. "I hate bats!!! I can’t stand them!! They must be the
goddam ugliest things on the entire planet!! All hairy and bloodsucking.... brrr!! Will you just get rid of it, for Christ’s sake??! Oh, God, please,
Vincent--!!"

".....All right, all right," he interrupted, gradually turning and heading out towards his bedroom. "Calm down, you’re ok. I’ll just go set it free out
the window. I don’t know how it got inside in the first place, but....." His voice insinuatingly grew fainter as he left the room, and I stared after
him for several seconds through my fingers before finally lowering my hands from my face and exhaling a breathless sigh.

".................I hate them........" I whispered throatily, clenching my quivering fingers into tight fists. "......Absolutely despise them......"

I sat alone in the living room for probably close to a minute and a half, and then I slowly shifted up to my feet and took several trembling steps
over towards the window. The city was hardly visible in the darkness, but I could see the small specks of various colored light speckled all over
the black mural of the surrounding backdrop. The street below was forsaken and dismal, still varnished with a thin coat of white snow. I stared
blankly out towards the desolate landscape, then breathed out a quiet sigh. ........It’s so beautiful... I thought, resting my forehead against the
cold glass. .....Why is this the viewpoint of the city I never get to see from the street...? And why is it that every time I feel depressed or confused,
this is the place I come to...?

I continued to gaze out towards the slumbering city for several more seconds, then slowly shifted my vision towards my reflection on the glass
before me. "This is all so stupid," I announced aloud, staring towards the murky image of myself projected back at me. "I don’t know why, but it
is. I want it all to stop. I want everyone to leave me alone. And first thing tomorrow, I’m going to head straight out that--"

I stopped as my vision slowly crept from my reflection to over my shoulder, and I felt a jolt as I noticed the form of a pale woman standing only a
foot or two from behind me. Her reflected icy blue eyes glared angrily over towards me, and after several seconds she gradually turned and
walked away from my back until she eventually dissipated into the air.

All at once I whirled about, facing the spot where the woman had been standing, but all that came into view was the engulfing blanket of
darkness around me. I stood, staring down at the carpet before me, for several seconds, then managed to choke through my panting breaths,
"................L..........Lucrecia........?......That’s...... that’s who it was, wasn’t it....?..............It was Lucrecia again.....!!"

A loud noise came from above me.

Immediately I froze in place, then slowly lifted my eyes to the ceiling. Nothing happened for a second, but then I heard it again--a conspicuous
creaking sound coming from the floor over my head, finally succeeded by another, further across the ceiling, like a gradual chain of soft
footsteps. I drew in a sharp gasp that got caught in my throat and clasped my hands across my chest, gaping incoherently the woodwork above
me. The noise came again, soft but deafening in the coarse silence, gradually moving its way across the story over my head. Another--a
tumultuous creaking of aged floorboards, echoing mercilessly in the darkness about me. "........U...ughh....." I choked quietly, slowly slinking back
towards the couch. ".......Some.....someone’s here.......Someone’s in the house.....!!"

I glanced down at my hands, which were quivering noticeably in the absence of light, then gripped them tightly against my bosom and snapped
my head over towards the hallway. "......Oh...oh my God.....I....I can’t even think...! Ok, ok, chill out, Allie, you have to get out of here--"

I was silenced as a hand whipped out of the darkness, clamping across my mouth and whipping me firmly against the wall. I emitted a muffled
shriek, then, panting, glanced up towards the face of my assaulter. Instantly I recognized Vincent’s ashen countenance, only an inch or two from
mine, and I could feel his ragged, warm breaths brushing against my face. I exhaled a series of frightened whimpers, and immediately he exerted
some extra pressure or his hand over my mouth. "......Shhh..." he whispered softly through his staggering breaths, gazing straight into my eyes.
"......Ok, Allie, listen to me.....You’ve got to be quiet, all right...? There’s someone here, do you understand me...? And I think I know who it
is........So you’ve got to get the hell out of here as quickly as possible, ok? I’m going to take my hand away.....Don’t scream, understand?? Stay
quiet." After receiving a series of panicked nods, he gradually removed his palm from across my lips. I clenched my eyes shut, stifling a terrified,
suppressed cry, then slowly gazed up at his face. He watched me to see my reaction, then bent closer in order for me to hear him. ".......Ok, listen
closely, Allie...." he instructed me quietly, hesitating briefly as another creaking footstep came from the ceiling above his head.
"........................I..........I want you to go into the library, ok?....Turn left at the door and go up to the large clapboard bookcase in the corner. Pull it
away from the wall. It’ll lead into a hidden staircase that will bring you outside. I want you to go down the stairs and get out of here, do you
understand??"

I stared at him for several seconds in silence, then slowly nodded. "..........Y.....Yes..........."

"Don’t turn back for anything, do you understand me?" he told me, brushing away a sweaty lock of blond hair that had sprawled across my face.
"Don’t stop. Just keep going until you reach safety, ok?..."

"..................But..............but what about---"

"Shhh!!" he hissed quietly, casting a glance above him as another footfall came from the ceiling. "You just go. I’ll be fine. Don’t you dare turn
around and come back for me, do you understand? Don’t stop running until you have no idea where you are, all right?....................Are you
ready....?"

I forced myself to swallow, then nodded shakily.

".....All right..." Vincent stood up straight and looked upwards towards the ceiling. ".......Go."

I felt a powerful jolt, and all at once I whirled about and dashed down the hallway towards the library. My hammering heartbeat and huffing
breaths clogged my ears, blurring my sight, prowling viciously over my skin. The corridor seemed so long to me now, and it seemed like I had
been running forever before I finally reached the library. It was much darker in this room than the surrounding ones, due to the lack of a window,
and I had to hesitate for several seconds in order for my eyes to adjust to the change in light. The chamber was rather large but appeared smaller,
since every wall was lined with a series of massive bookcases stuffed full with various works of literature. I could faintly see cobwebs hanging
from the corners and from the elegant, dark candelabras bolted to the walls.

My vision fell to the bookcase to my left.

It was significantly larger than the others, filled with an innumerable amount of diversified books. It loomed like a dark, ominous shadow against
the indistinct wall, standing a good foot or so higher above my head. I stared at it in silence for a good thirty seconds, then forced myself to
swallow and made a dash towards it, blinded to my surroundings due to the intense blackness engulfing the room. I hurriedly slipped my fingers
around the shelf closest to my height, feeling the sticky cobwebs hanging from the above ledge cling to my fingers, and with a strained moan I
only managed to drag the bookcase maybe two or three inches away from the wall. It was surprisingly heavy, and I watched in horror as several
publications plummeted from the mantels and plunged to the dusty rug beneath my feet with a deafening thump. I froze for a minute, panting and
staring down at the open binders on the floor (which seemed to be volumes of hand-written scientific observations and graphs), then turned my
head back towards the doorway. Everything remained silent.

I watched the postern for several more seconds, then turned back towards the bookcase and gave another strained tug. It shifted several inches
further away from the wall, causing several more notebooks to fall to the floor. "......uuuughhh..." I gave one final forced yank on the cumbrous
wooden shelf in my hands, then drew back to observe my progress. I had succeeded in dragging the left side of the bookcase about a foot or so
away from the wall, partially revealing a hidden doorway leading into a darkened passageway. I stared at the gateway for a minute or two, then
gave one final glance back towards the hallway before I hesitated, inhaled a sharp breath, and took several steps into the darkness beyond.

Past the hatchway was a long flight of cold stone stairs.

The narrow passageway surrounding me was completely black, with the exception of some dim light emanating from the library above me. On
either side of me I could sense the presence of two icy brick walls stretching up to the low ceiling above my head, and the air clawing predatorily
at my skin reeked heavily of dust, wet stone, and carrion. I covered my mouth and choked in disgust, forcing myself to continue further down the
stairwell. "...........You can do this, Allie......" I assured myself quietly, feeling shakily with my foot for the next step below me. ".......You’re almost
there.....just keep going, and you’ll be--"

I was cut off as a series of gunshots spontaneously rang out from the apartment behind me, surprisingly overpowering in the compressed
passageway around me. All at once I drew in a terrified gasp, whirled back around, and shot my vision back up towards the doorway at the top of
the staircase, fastening my hands together in front of my heart. Deathly silence ensued.

I couldn’t move; my legs had become cemented to the brick beneath me. I gaped for several more seconds up at the doorway, panting, then
emitted a choked, ".................V..............Vincent.....??" I took one step up towards the hatch. ".......V....Vincent...!!!"

My breaths were heaving now. The sickening blanket of powerful silence combined with the concentrated darkness smothered my body, and for
a second I thought I was going to faint. "...Vincent...!" I cried despondently. "...Vincent, are you there??" I took another panicked step up the
staircase. "...Vincent, please answer me!!"

All was still for a moment, but then I could faintly perceive the sound of the same heavy footsteps I had heard above me only minutes before
making their way across the living room behind me. I froze for a second, stumbling back down the two stairs I had ascended, then whirled about
and made a dash down into the depths of the passageway.

The bottom of the staircase lead into a remarkably large brick chamber, entirely submerged in darkness. The powerful odors I had smelled before
were much stronger now, so much so that I could feel my sinuses burn and my eyes begin to water. The room seemed to continue on in two
directions: a wide supplement of the enclosure I now stood in to my right or a seemingly narrowing passage proceeding before me. I glanced
back and forth between these two choices, then back up towards the staircase behind me. The scent of decaying flesh seemed to be originating
from the blackened route to my right, and now I could also hear the sound of dripping water and a series of quiet squeaking noises, which I could
only assume were rats.

I drew in a sharp breath, forcing myself to relax, and stood in silence with my eyes closed for probably about five minutes. When I finally
reopened them, I cast one glance back over to my right before I continued forward to the passageway before me.

As I had guessed, the brick walls gradually began to close around me, and soon I found myself ascending yet another adamantine stairway. This
one was significantly darker than the first, however, and I was forced to cling pathetically to the brick bastions to either side of me for support.
"...........Ok, Allie......." I huffed quietly, straining my eyes against the intense murkiness. "...You’re gonna be all right, ok?? And Vincent too.
Vincent’s fine. He’s gonna be waiting for you when you finally get outside. And then you can just go home and everything will be just like it was
before, ok....???"

I was stopped abruptly as my hands before me suddenly hit against cold stone, and faintly in the darkness I could see the outline of another wall
blocking my path, bluntly ending the staircase. "..........Oh shit......" I whispered shakily to myself, pushing weakly against the barrier before me.
".......Oh shit......oh, c’mon, please..... Don’t do this to me.....o God, please don’t do this to me....!!"

I took a small step back from the wall, hurriedly sweeping over it with my eyes, and then I crouched down and ran my fingers over several bricks
that seemed to be a darker color than the others. I shoved feebly against one, then let out a sigh of relief as it shifted backwards slightly from the
force. "...Yes!!" I cried softly, placing both my hands against the weakened stones and pressing against them again. "Thank God! Oh thank you
God!! I’m going to get out of here, I’m so out of here--!!"

I was silenced as my ears picked up a faint scurrying noise coming from the wall before me, and I immediately let out a terrified gasp as I spotted
numerous black specks scampering up my arm. "Oh God!!!!!" I shrieked tumultuously, jerking backwards and clawing viciously at my sleeve.
"Oh Jesus Christ!!" I could see more of them now--thousands of spiders flowing out from the wall before me, spilling to the floor, invading the
walls. ".........They’re.....they’re everywhere!!" I choked shakily, staring around me in horror. "...Oh my God, there’re billions of the goddam
things......!!!!" I emitted another scream as I could feel them crawling up my arms, scratching at my legs. "They’re all over me!!!! Oh my God oh
my God oh my God--!!!!" I tore violently at my clothes and the back of my neck, then rammed the wall with my shoulder. "Come on!!!!!" I
shrieked, drawing back and repeating the action. "What the hell is wrong with you?!!! Give way, dammit!!! Let....me...out...of... here...!!!!!!!" With
one final attack several of the bricks finally slid through the wall and fell onto the ground beyond, allowing refreshing light to enter into the
chamber. Immediately I bent down and forced my way through the small opening, then fell to my knees onto the ground and continued to slash
at my body. "Get them off me, get them off me!!" Innumerable black spiders fell from my clothes and hair to the grass beneath me.

Panting, I finally ceased my hysterics and slowly glanced around me. I sat towards the back of the small graveyard between the buildings I had
noticed the first day I had awakened in Vincent’s apartment, facing the posteriors of all the gravestones and monuments. I gradually shifted to
my feet and dusted myself off, gaping blankly at the cemetery before me, then slowly took several steps forward, out into the center of the
graveyard.

I cast several glances about me towards the obelisks I passed, holding my arms against me as the atmosphere about me turned noticeably cooler.
".......It’s so quiet...." I whispered to myself. ".....Like.....like death....I wonder if this is all the dead hear...?"

I stopped abruptly as my eyes fell to a certain gravestone, then turned and wiped the layer of dust away from the inscription. "...........
‘Lucrecia’........." I read quietly, lifting a hand to my mouth. ".........Oh.....oh my God........Is....is this her grave........?" All at once I was struck with an
intense wave of nausea, and I turned away from the monument. "..U..ugh.....That’s....that’s so--" I halted a second time as I noticed the
gravestone I was now facing, then removed the dirt caking the marble engraving. "..........W.........wait a second...." I choked hoarsely, drawing
backwards. ".........This...this one too......Why.....why do they both say ‘Lucrecia’....?"

I turned back around towards the rest of the cemetery behind me, then approached another random cenotaph. "........... "Lucrecia’......this one’s for
her too....?" My vision shifted up towards the remainder of the graveyard, and immediately I drew in a gasp and stumbled several feet backwards.
".........Oh my God....." I whispered in shock, surveying the entirety of the necropolis. ".....A.....all of them.....every single gravestone..... they’re all
for Lucrecia........every single one has her name on it.....!!"

Suddenly the cemetery seemed very cramped, as if it was choking the air out of my surroundings while it gradually engulfed my body, and as my
blood began to freeze over and my skin began to grow cold I managed to squeeze my eyes shut and dash past the remaining monuments, out
towards the road, leaving behind only a trail of footprints in the snow surrounding the silent, unmoving gravestones.

                                   My View From the Window ~ Chapter Six

It must have been close to about five or six in the morning when the sun gradually began to peer through the gaps between buildings, spilling a
vast blanket of aureate stitching across the white snow beneath my feet. I had only decided to continue walking maybe an hour or two before,
since fear and exhaustion had immediately crippled me only after a brief amount of time after fleeing from the graveyard. I had spent an eternity
concealed in the protective shadows of a number of dark alleyways, occasionally managing to drift off into some sort of finite, restless slumber
before being promptly awakened by a nightmare or some sort of foreboding premonition. Other than that, I had forced myself to remain hidden
from the eyes of the searching world until it grew light enough for me to continue forward.

I braced myself against a malicious gale of violent wind that snarled angrily down the avenue as it charged past me, ignoring several unusual
glances I was receiving from a number of passersby. "......So cold....." I whispered hoarsely, gripping my sleeves in order to warm myself with my
own embrace. I cast a glimpse down at a rather elderly man leaned against the brick wall as I passed, and he slowly gazed back up at me through
bloodshot, blurry eyes and tightened the torn blanket he held over his shoulders. ".......This is the city I see all the time....not the peaceful
metropolis I can see through Vincent’s window...." I caught a quick look of a group of small children, probably no older than the age of six, all
rummaging through garbage cans and greedily eating the dirtied scraps they managed to find.

I turned my head away and quickened my pace, and as suddenly as they had started my thoughts quieted themselves.

                                              *****

I exhaled a nervous weary sigh and gazed out through the glass, twirling the phone cord apprehensively between my fingers. I heard another
distant ring in my ear, then troubledly lifted one hand to my forehead and leaned against the transparent wall beside me. "..........C’mon, c’mon,
where are you.....?" I whispered quietly, gazing uneasily down at my shoes. "..........Don’t do this to me, Vincent......c’mon, pick up the damn
phone....let me know you’re ok.....c’mon, please...!"

".........We’re sorry, but the designated party is not answering," a monotonous mechanical voice told me. "We regret to inform you that you will
now be automatically disconnected."

"...No, no, dammit!!" I screamed angrily, but was immediately silenced by a loud dial tone. "Shit!!" I slammed the receiver furiously back onto the
base, then leaned back against the wall behind me and let out an aggravated breath. ".......Ok, Allie, you’re going to calm down now..." I
instructed myself quietly, pushing back several strands of blond hair that dropped limply before my eyes. "Panicking isn’t going to rectify this
situation. You’re just going to have to keep a low profile and see how things play out...."

I emitted another sigh, then slowly forced myself to stand and slide open the glass door beside me and stepped out of the phone booth.
"...Besides, maybe it wasn’t even his number," I assured myself as I continued slowly down the road, shoving my numb hands into my jean
pockets--I was still internally praising myself for falling asleep in Tifa’s clothes--and holding up one hand to shield my face from another vicious
attack of wind. "...Yeah, that’s probably it...You only got a quick glance at it from beside the phone at his apartment, and your memory
sucks....yeah, I must have dialed the wrong number........"

I proceeded walking forward, leaving a trail of imprints on the blanket of frost behind me and gazing sadly towards the pale asphalt beneath me.
"......................What am I so worried about, anyway?" I questioned myself nastily, halfheartedly kicking away a rock in my path so it tumbled
clumsily into the road. "That jerk never cared about me in the first place. And, hell, I never gave a damn about him either. He barely ever talked to
me, and even when he did, it was usually some mumblings about Lucrecia or whatever that woman’s name was....He couldn’t have cared less
about my welfare....only his own and Lucrecia’s......" I slowly closed my eyes as I continued walking. "...........Then..........then why do I keep
thinking about him.....?"

The following seconds were completely composed of an impenetrable silence that shrieked mockingly in my ears and brushed coldly against my
body, threatening me, taunting me. My eyes fluttered shut once again, attempting to muffle the contemptuous tranquillity, but my conscience
and the guilty ravings within my stomach refused to be muted.

All at once a robust presentiment snapped angrily through my body, tearing at my skin and almost causing me to collapse into unconsciousness.
That...that feeling.....it’s tearing my body apart.....!!!! I clutched my body in a desperate attempt to stifle the pain, panting, then slowly lifted my
head to glance around. Numerous pedestrians continued by me indifferently, not even hesitating to gaze over at me. ...U...ughhh...!! I cringed
again, bracing myself against the fiery stab of agony that suddenly erupted from my stomach, and brushed aside the loose strands of hair that
had been thrust across my sweaty countenance by a pitiless squall that snapped by me. What...what the hell....?! My eyes slowly crept across
the numerous people that strutted casually past me until they gradually fell to the large pane of glass showing into a rather small café situated to
my right. ....Ouch....! Ripping.. ... my body to shreds....!!

I emitted a breathless gasp as my vision fell to a dark form positioned within a booth inside the café.

He sat only maybe two or three feet from my side, merely separated from me by the misty window between us. He was leaning nonchalantly on
his elbows against the table, occasionally taking a sip from the cup of coffee situated beside him, and through the haze dusted lightly against the
glass I could vaguely perceive an amused smirk seeping up onto his face.

All at once he turned his head towards me, and as he brushed away several ebony locks of hair from before his complexion I caught a panicked
glimpse of a pair of aberrant emerald eyes.

...Y.....You....!!!! I staggered back several steps backwards, my quivering hands clasped tightly against my heart, and tightened my fingers into
fists. ......How..how did you....??!

The man continued to sneer at my sudden alarm, indifferently maintaining his eye contact with me through the window, and all of a sudden his
hand lifted from the table, and he slowly gestured for me to advance towards him.

My knees trembled beneath my weight, yet they were unresponsive to the intense cold surrounding my body, and I finally forced my immobile
feet to tear away from the asphalt beneath me, whirl around, and dash madly back in the direction I had come, furiously shoving my way into the
protection of the crowds lining the sidewalk.

Behind me, the man grimaced again, turning his head towards the table once more, then took a small sip from his cup once again and placed it
lightly back into its saucer.

                                              *****

"Excuse me!! Excuse me!!" Panting, I managed to force my way through the tight masses hemming the streets, constraining myself to swallow
down my parched throat. Gotta get away...!! I thought desperately, propelling myself between a couple walking hand in hand and continuing to
sprint down the walkway. That....that was him....I’d recognize him from anywhere...!! The man from the apartment...!!! I raced blindly across the
avenue, squeezing myself into a fresh flock of pedestrians and continuing to flee. How did he find me??! I thought frantically, my mind racing
impetuously and sending frenzied messages before my eyes. How did he find where I had gone?! Does he know where I am all the time...??! An
older man shot me an exasperated glare as I shoved past him, and I heard several people mumbling about "insane drugees" and "disrespectful
youths," but my intense hysteria had driven me into a state of oblivion, and my delirious brain refused to have my legs stop running.

That feeling I had when I first stepped in front of the café....I thought hazily, slipping between another pair of lovers walking side by side.
...what....what was that...? I thought I was going to be ripped apart...! Could...could it have been some sort of warning...? Was...was someone
trying to tell me about the man in the café...?

I managed to free myself from the custody of the mob on the streetside and slip clumsily into a side alley, awkwardly forcing myself to scale a tall
hurricane fence and leap to the pavement on the opposite side. I landed negligently on one knee and had to push myself back up to my feet,
ignoring the blood that was beginning to seep onto my pantleg, and continued to hasten deeper into the alleyway. I can’t get away... I thought
suddenly, fluttering my eyes closed as I ran. ....He’s found me before....what makes me think that I can--

I was silenced as I directly collided with an obstacle before me, and I was sent sprawling clumsily onto my back on the asphalt. I sat up onto my
elbows, lifting a hand to my face as I could feel my nose beginning to bleed and trickle down my chin. ".....Uuuuggg...." I slowly lifted my eyes to
the form before me, a tall, dark silhouette standing above my panting body on the ground with its arms crossed sternly before it.

"...Ok, you little wench!!" it hissed nastily, extending a furious hand out towards me. "I don’t want to hurt you, you got that? Just give me all
your damn money and I’ll go on my way and you can go on yours and none will be the wiser, all right??"

".......Nnnn..." I gaped blankly up towards the shadow’s face, then slowly blinked several times. ".....D.... Damien...?..."

".....Eh...?" The figure hesitated for a second, then slowly reached forward and lifted my bangs from my face. ".......................Jesus Christ!! It’s
Eliza!!"

"....D......Damien...!!" I cried despondently, shifting myself to my knees and reaching a quivering hand up towards him. ".......I....I.....!!!"

"What the hell are you doin’ here??" he exclaimed loudly, kneeling before me and clasping my hand in his. "Are you insane?? Why aren’t you
back at home?? I coulda hurt you, you stupid bitch!! What are you doin’ in all those new clothes??"

"....Damien...!" My startled mind prohibited any sound but his name from escaping my lips, and all at once I threw myself up against him.
"...It’s...it’s you....! Please say it’s really you....!"

"...Eliza, where did you come from??" he asked me in surprise, gradually wrapping his arms around my quivering body against him. "What
happened? Why are you so afraid...?"

".......Just don’t leave me behind..." I choked quietly, burying my face into his shirt. ".........Just don’t leave me by myself...........make everything go
away.....just make it all leave me alone...!!"

                                              *****

"...........Dammit, Eliza, I said not to touch it!" Ryo snapped furiously, seizing my wrist and jerking it away from the large gash on my right knee.
"It’ll get infected, it will, if you don’t leave it the hell alone!! Just hold the damn cloth on it, ok??"

"....Jesus Christ, you’re just like a goddam father..." I huffed angrily, pulling my hand away from his grasp and replacing the wet rag atop my
wound once again. "I was just seeing if it was still bleeding, that’s all. I’ll be fine, I don’t need any of you guys to take care of me."

".....Yeah, well, that’s not what Damien said," Claude retorted, apprehending a curious stray cat by the scuff of its neck and thrusting it away
from the small cardboard box inclosing a insignificant amount of food. "...You again, you stupid cat!! How many damn times do I have to kick
your ass before you leave?!" He snorted again, watching the feline sprint furiously out towards the road, then whipped his vision back over
towards me. "....According to what he said, you were sobbin’ and stutterin’ all over.....he said it looked like you was about to have a goddam
nervous breakdown."

"..............................Well, what does he know....?" I turned my head aside, gazing down towards the asphalt beneath me. After Damien had found
me, he had led me back to the alleyway where he and the majority of the homeless adolescents of the city resided, then had soon departed in
order to mug more passersby. Although the alley was usually rather deserted with the exception of my five male companions, at this time
numerous more nomadic juveniles were positioned all along the back wall of the passageway, and the atmosphere around me echoed with the
noises of conversation and laughter.

".................You gonna be ok, Eliza...?" a small girl of about seven years of age, who I knew as Mimi, asked me, gradually approaching my side and
lifting her shredded hat from before her eyes. "You was bleedin’ a lot....you sure you gonna be all right...?"

I smiled, then pulled her cap back over her eyes. "....I’ll be fine, Mimi. You don’t need to worry about me at all..." I had known this girl for
probably the majority of her life, when Damien had discovered her weak, malnourished body beneath one of the overpasses somewhere on the
south side of Midgar. She had been abandoned by her parents, it seemed, several months or even years before, and as she was crying she was
occasionally staring up towards the bridge above her, as if contemplating suicide. Whether or not she was mentally deciding whether or not to
throw herself into oncoming traffic, I’m not sure--all I know is that ever since then I’ve strived to bring her back to a state of psychological
sanity.

".....I told you, she’s not here!!" a loud voice suddenly shouted from the entrance of the alleyway, and simultaneously we all turned our heads
towards the noise. "I’ll say it again, there’s no one named Allie here!! I suggest you get the hell out of here, you moron, before I beat the shit
outta you!!"

I immediately froze, then shifted up to my feet. "...........What......what the hell...."

Mimi clung to my hand and slid nervously up beside me. "....E.....Eliza....?"

"........Move over," a second stern voice commanded from the inlet. "Now."

"I’m tellin’ ya, there’s no one you want in here!!" the original voice, which I could now recognize as Damien, insisted. "Besides, we don’t let your
type--"

"Move." There was a loud shuffling noise, as if someone was shoved roughly into the wall, and suddenly a series of loud footsteps began to
make their way towards me. Mimi’s grip tightened on my hand, stopping any blood circulation from entering my fingers, and squeezed her eyes
shut, burying her face into my hip. I forced myself to swallow and straightened up, but beneath me I could feel my knees trembling.

I drew in a startled gasp as the form of Vincent stormed out from the shadows, and all at once I wrenched my hand from Mimi’s constricting
grasp and lifted it to my face. "..........V.........Vincent....." I stammered blankly, staring up at his face as he grabbed my wrist and yanked me towards
him. ".........It’s......it’s really...."

"You!!" he snapped angrily. "What the hell do you think you’re doing?? Are you out of your mind, coming here?! This is the first place he’ll look
for you, damn it!! What was the first thing I told--"

".........................Vincent........!!" I was completely oblivious to his enraged remonstrance, and all at once I threw my arms around his neck in a
forlorn embrace. "Oh my God!!" I cried joyously, burying my face into his shoulder. "Oh my God, it’s really you!!! I...I thought.....that you
had...!!!! Oh Christ, you’re alive!! You’re really alive....!!!"

"....................I................" Vincent immediately turned tense in my arms, and his voice instantly was cut off. I could feel how tight he had
spontaneously grown, and I speedily drew back and seized hold of both of his arms.

"You’re alive, I can’t believe you’re actually alive!!!" I exclaimed happily, ignoring the perplexed stares from the surrounding spectators I could
feel on my back. "....As.....as soon as I left, I was so afraid that you had been......but it doesn’t matter now, you’re ok!! Oh my God, I’m so
relieved!!"

"........Uh....." His face had become significantly flushed, and all at once he withdrew his arm from my grasp and as casually as possible brushed
aside several locks of hair that had fallen across his face. ".......Th.... there was no reason for you to be worried....." he stammered anxiously,
casting his gaze away from me. "....Nothing occurred. Absolutely nothing. After I fired a series of shots up towards the ceiling, I have a feeling
whoever was lurking up there decided to depart........You....you truly did not need to worry.....about me....."

"....Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the hell is goin’ on here??!" Damien snapped, shoving roughly between Vincent and me. "Who the hell are you??
What do you think you’re doin’ here?? I swear to God, I’ll kick your slimy--"

"It’s ok, it’s ok, Damien!!" I exclaimed speedily, grabbing hold of his arm in order to restrain him. "Vincent’s a friend of mine, it’s all right!!
There’s no reason for you to be--"

I was silenced as a loud gunshot sounded out from somewhere behind me, and all at once I felt something whistle past my ear. I emitted a loud
scream and covered my eyes as one of the male adolescents positioned before me keeled over, grasping his chest, and collapsed onto his
stomach to the asphalt. Blood flowed across the snow like an evil, looming shadow, and I could see more seeping onto the back of shirt in a
small, circular shape. Immediately my vision whipped out towards the entrance of the alley, where I could see a dark silhouette contrasting
against the outpouring of light emanating from the street beyond.

"..............................Allie....." he said all of a sudden, taking a step forward and slowly lowering his gun. ".....Which one of you here is named
Allie...?"
 

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