Chapter 4: Twist of Fate
Reno considered the possibilities; It was possible Rufus somehow, luckily survived, possible he was the one who murdered Tseng and stole
his body. Why would he leave his body, the come back for it. Maybe he changed his mind. Maybe he wanted Eden Inc. to know he was
still around. Maybe Rufus WAS dead and somebody had faked his handwriting. So many maybe’s. Reno had always known Rufus to be
an intelligent man, but his intelligence was sometimes overshadowed and controlled by his greed. Maybe that would be his undoing, his
greed making him that little more hurried, little more careless. Maybe the little mistakes he makes will add up and deliver him to Eden Inc
and Reeve. Two more maybes for the list.
Reno stared from the window of the chopper Reeve had arranged. It was still early in the morning, and he could see little on the ground
through the dense layer of fog that engulfed the landscape. Reno slid his nightstick from his belt, feeling the tiny indentations on the mythril
his nightstick was made from. He touched an unusually large one, and smiled. From his battle with AVALANCHE on the top of the Sector
7 tower, he had brought it down upon Barrett, only to be blocked by Barretts gun-arm. The force of the clash had nearly broken Reno’s
wrist. Pangs of guilt ran through him when he thought of all the innocent people killed thanks to Shinra and the demolishing of that tower,
although Reno didn’t support the decision. Reno shook his head furiously, trying to get the thought out of his head. He couldn’t go soft, not
now.
The ruins of Midgar came into view on the horizon.
"Would you like to circle it first sir?" came the helicoptor pilots voice from the cockpit.
"Yes, circle it."
Memories, most of them painful, burst through Reno’s head when he saw ruins of places he remembered. The remnants of Sector 3, his
home. Bars he’d drunk at, shattered on the ground. The few landmarks he could recognize were everything but completely annihilated. The
ground was mostly streaks of grey and green, pieces of metal decorating it like some sort of twisted, gnarled painting.
"Fly lower."
"Yes sir."
Reno saw a broken piece of concrete with red spraypaint on it.
Averls.
"Hey, wait, go down, yeah, just down there, near that bit of concrete.."
"Which bit? There’s concrete all over the place."
"Erm, the one with the paint on it."
"Hmm, that one?," the pilot pointed.
"Yeah, down there. I’ll get off here."
The helicoptor descended onto a small patch of dirt, dust blowing in all directions from the blade. It hovered a couple of metres above the
ground.
"I have to go pick up the architects now, sir, will you be alright by yourself?"
Reno nodded and jumped from the helicoptor, landing on his feet.
The pilot waved as the helicoptor left. Reno didn’t wave back.
Reno was spooked, it was so quiet. To see such a once great and powerful city brought to its knees, destroyed, dead, disturbed him. The
silence was torn wide open by the snarl of a Fang. By the time Reno whipped out his nightstick and whirled around, the Fang was on his
back and Reno was face down in the dirt. He felt the Fangs claws dig into the flesh of his back. He tried to stay calm despite the stinging
pain in his back. He could feel the Fangs breath on his neck, felt its teeth on him. He jerked the nightstick up into its ribs. The Fang yelped
in surprise and gave Reno time to throw it off his back. He spun the nightstick in his fingers, blood dripping from the small but extremely
sharp spike on the end. The Fang ran at him again, but this time Reno caught it in mid air with his nightstick, nailing it in the back of the
skull. He heard a sharp crack and the Fang hit the ground, dead. Reno heard a soft squeak. He turned around and saw a girl, watching
him. She was very beautiful but was dirty and looked frightened.
"Hello.."
The girl turned around and started to run.
"No, wait, no come back!! Wait up!"
Reno saw the piece of concrete next to him. It had a part of an A in red spraypaint on it.
"A-Averls?"
The girl stopped and turned around slowly.
"Are you Averls?" said Reno. She nodded. The she ran off. Reno picked up the piece of concrete and started to chase after her.
Chapter 5
Back to Library