FF8 Presents The Thing

Chapter 11


Seifer and Laguna resort to using their flares for flashlights. They make their way to Raijin’s shed using a rope to keep on track, staying well away of each other as well. Fujin heads off into another direction. Irvine and Zell are moving along the hallway. Creaking sound of a door is heard but not seen. Irvine falls back a few steps as they go.

Irvine, “ What did we ever do to these things anyway?”

Zell pauses and looks at Irvine, “ Dude!”

Irvine is a bit confused,, “ What?”

Zell, “ I don’t want you behind me! “

Irvine, “ Oh... right.” Bit embarrassed he forgotten and moves to Zell’s side and they continue moving along the hallway.

Laguna and Seifer arrive at Raijin’s shed. The window are now boarded up. Can barely see through the cracks. What seifer can see sends chills down his back. Raijin has erected a hangman’s noose but hasn’t used it yet. He is also eating something out of a can.

Seifer, “ Hey Raijin... Gone chickenwuss on me?”

Raijin jumps started at first but then is very happy to hear his friend, “ Seifer! Is Quistis out there? I... I wanna come back inside! Its too creepy out here alone, ya know?”

Seifer, “ Have you see Quistis?”

Raijin, “ What I see? That ain’t Quistis, ya know! Please.. let me come back!”

Seifer, “ I have to go get the keys! I’ll be back!”

Raijin, “ Hurry, Seifer! I don’t wanna die alone.”

Ward was still watching over the drugged up trio. His eyes twitch to the entrances and back to the people on the couch. Rubs his chest which has been in pain. But yet, Ward says nothing about it.

Dr. Kadowaki, “ Ward.. if you won’t let me check you out, at least tell the others. “

Ward shakes his head.

Dr. Kadowaki nods, “ Okay.. but if we get out of this.. please let someone give you a check up. Shame to loose a good man to a heart attack.”

Ward smiles gratefully.

Seifer and Laguna are pulling themselves along the rope back up the slope. The winds fight them hard along the way. The wind causes seifer to fall but he keeps grip on the rope. This causes him to loose his torch. Laguna grabs for it before it falls down the slope. Then makes his way over to Seifer. Seifer makes eye contract as he tenses. If laguna is the THING then he may well attack now. Laguna hands back the torch though.

Laguna, “ You dropped this?”

Seifer, “ Thanks.. “

Seifer is relived that Laguna was still so far one of them and gets back up. The two resume their climb up the slope. Zell and Irvine made it to the kitchen. Checking the auxiliary box they find out why it wasn’t working.

Irvine, “ Look at the mess!”

Zell, “ This box has been pulled apart. I think some of it is missing.

Seifer and Laguna reach Seifer’s room. They stand either side of the door. Seifer nods and shoves it open to see pitch darkness. The light switch doesn’t work either. They carefully enter the room. Each hold their torches ready to fire. The place is a mess. Someone has torn through it.

Seifer, “ Damn it!”

Laguna, “ Hey someone stool your roof!” The roof was gone from his room. Almost as if something strong ripped it off, “ Think the storm did this?”

Seifer, “ No! Only our alien friend could have this.”

Irvine is walking along with Zell down a more rickety part of the compound. The cowboy stands by the shorter blond as they check each room one by one. Zell is the one who unlocks, while Irvine stands by with his torch. Zell comes across his room which was filled with wind and snow from a smashed in window.

Irvine, “ I doubt that snow is good for your magazines.”

Zell, “ My collection!” l tries to see inside and see what can be salvaged of his collection but Irvine yanks him back.

Irvine, “ Zell!”

Zell, “ Let me go!”

Irvine, “ Its just paper man... Let it go.” Then the far door is pushed open by the wind. What irvine sees causes him to go pale, “ Zell!”

Quistis, with her arm outstretched and frozen. An ax was embedded through her chest, pinning her to the inside of the door. Soon Fujin joins them as they try to free her body from the door, but it is too embedded for any of them to move.

Zell, “ Whatever it is.. is stronger then me!”

Irvine, “ Only Ward is stronger then you!”

The three make their way back the Rec Room. No one says anything right away but Irvine breaks the siloence.

Irvine, “ I wonder why it didn’t imitate Quistis?”

Zell, “ Maybe it didn’t have enough time?”

Fujin, “ THIN!”

Irvine, “ Yeah, I agree.. that theory is pretty thin.”

Zell, “ Okay... This is how it is... With Dr. Kadowaki drugged up, only Quistis was able to research finding a fool proof way to reveal the alien. The Bastard had to wack her!”

Irvine “ Seifer!! “

Zell, “ Laguna! Seifer!”

They make it to the rec room. Storm howls loudly overhead.

Zell, “ How long have they been gone?”

Fujin, “ FORTY MINUTES!”

Some unease is between them.

Zell, “ We better start closing off the outside doors then.”

As they are closing one of the doors, they see a figure approach. They open the door long enough for Laguna to crumble through the doorway.

Laguna, “ Man its freezing out there! .. “

Irvine, “ Where is Seifer?!”

Laguna, “ I ran from the sucker! “

Zell, “ Why?!”

Laguna pulls out a bundle of clothing. It is mauled and burned but the name on the inside is easy enough to read: Seifer Almasty

Laguna, “ I found it on one of the furnaces. The wind must have dislodged it... So I went ahead and cut the rope so he can’t follow me back so easy.”

Fujin was in shock that her seifer.. might be that thing!

Fujin, “ LIE!”

Laguna, “ He got to be one of them!”

Zell’s whole body was trembling, “ When did it get him?”

Irvine, “ Who knows, Zell... “

Zell, “ How do we know it wasn’t you who got him!”

Laguna, “ Why would I turn over my ally if I was the alien? Duh!”

Irvine “ Squall went missing.. and so did Fujin.”

Fujin, “ FUCK YOU!”

Laguna and Zell are forced to keep them apart.

Ward mouths something.

Laguna, “ He’s right! That THING wants us to fight each other!”

They all jump at the pounding on the door and Seifer yelling for them to open up. They grip their weapons in fear.

Seifer, “ Someone better open up! Damn it... The towline snapped! Had to crawl up here on my stomach! “

Laguna, “ He knows I cut it... I think... “

Irvine, “ Lets open the door.”

Zell, “ Hell no. I seen those monsters up close.

Seifer bangs on the door some more.

Fujin, “ WHAT IF HUMAN?”

Zell, “ Hey, yeah! He hasn’t had enough time to change!”

Laguna, “ Nothing human can crawl their way here!”

Zell, “ He might freeze to death!”

Fujin speaks softly and slow, “ What if we were mislead?”

Then they hear a window breaking down the all. They all turn.

Irvine, “ That's the supply room!”

Laguna, “... Lets go find him.”

Seifer was in the supply room which was pitch dark, looking for the light switch. As he stumbles and his skin hits things, he curses out loud.

Seifer, “ I am going to kick some asses... “

Irvine, “ Where are the keys?”

Zell, “ Seifer has them.” So he takes the ax and begins to hack away at the door.

Seifer yells out, “ What the fuck are you doing?”

Zell, “We know you got taken over! “

Seifer, “ Shit!” and he begins rummaging for something in the supplies.

Zell, “ We found the clothes of the real Seifer. They were torn and brunt up.”

Seifer, “ What clothing?” A bit surprsed by that. He can hear Zell chopping away at thw door, causing him to look with more desperation for something among the supplies, “ I was framed!”

Zell was one blow away from breaking the door open, so he nods to Irvine to get ready, “ We do this slowly... “

The last hit and the door caves in. They are about to move in but the sight before them gives them pause. Seifer stands ready. His cheeks and nose show signs of frostbite. Under his arm is some dynamite and he holds the flare very close to the box.

Seifer, “ Go ahead... make my day.” They seem to believe him, “ Now put your torches on the ground.”

They looks at each other and do so. Seifer steps into the hallway. His eyes never leaving them.

Seifer, “ Back up, slowly.”

They heed his warning and move further up the hallway.

Seifer then notices that some of them are missing, “ Where are the others?”

Laguna and Ward have crept around and through the now open window. They try to tackle Seifer. Seifer Kicks Laguna off, causing Ward to crash into some shelves. The others try to rush Seifer but he holds the flare close to the box again.

Seifer, “ Do you all want to die?!”

Laguna, “ Whoa.. calm down.”

Irvine, “ Yeah... Relax some.”

Seifer, “ If one more person touches me, we go boom!”

Ward starts to cough and gasp for breath and then he goes eerily still. Laguna is by his side ina heartbeat trying to wake him. Then he looks panic stricken.

Laguna, “ He stopped breathing!”

Seifer, “ Then go get Dr. Kadowaki! Bring the others as well. From now on no one is leaving my sight.”