The Lightning Strike

Sun wasn't up yet when I woke up. Glancing at the night stand, I could see clearly the red numbers of my digital clock: it marked 4:30 a.m.. I sat down in bed, stretching widely, in a attempt to wake up my still sleepy and sore muscles. Once I finished, I got up, trying to be as quiet as possible; would be really no good waking up Serah. After a quick shower, I got dressed and started to pack some things for my trip: ropes, blankets, my pocket knife, some extra clothes just in case... Taking the bag, I decided it would be better to go down the hall and the stairs barefoot in order to avoid making any kind of noise. Once I reached the kitchen, I grabbed some snacks and some water and put it on my bag. I knew I would need more than just some snacks but I was pretty sure I could get myself some food along the way. Putting my boots on and checking my loyal gunblade, I finally walked and reached the front door, opening it.
Giving one more glance inside, I sighed.

Forgive me Serah...

And I left.

"What if this storm ends? And I don't see you As you are now Ever again"

I ran as fast as I could through the desert streets of Cocoon. It was exactly 5:30 am now. I didn't even bother to tell anyone I was leaving since that would trigger way too many questions. My absence would save myself from many regrets and feelings that I was aiming to kill; my deepest emotions that I shall never show would stay caged once again in the deeps of my heart. He made my defenses crumble into sand. He made my heart melt with his touch. He made me feel loved for once. He made me feel secure in his arms. He was no one else but my sister's fiancé. Snow.

My feet came to a stop near the beach. Memories from that day clouded my mind; I shook my head violently, attempting to deny and erase all of them. But they were always present, craved in my heart and filling my thoughts like a stain. I started to walk towards the water, looking at the beautiful silver sea only light up by the moon. I placed my bag down and took a seat. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and empty my mind from any thought. The only thing I could hear was the waves softly crashing into the sand. How I wished my life could be so peaceful like this...

An hour passed by rather quickly. When I opened my eyes, the moon was already gone and the first rays on sun were starting to light up the horizon. Damn... Just how much time was I off?, I thought to myself. Grabbing my bag, I got up swiftly and made my way to the street again. My destination would be the untamed Pulse, where I knew I couldn't be found. I needed time for myself and I wouldn't deny it. After some walking, I reached the cargo point where I knew they would be sending some things to Pulse. My plan couldn't fail: I just needed to hide somewhere between all the boxes they were putting on the train and wait patiently for the arrival. Simple as that...

A few soldiers were guarding the place. For my luck, they seemed rather off since it was early. I made my way through the gate that would lead me to the station with no problem; the guard that was suppose to be watching the gate was asleep while the other was talking to a bird. Wow, amateurs..., I thought. With no difficulty at all, I reached the cargo. Looking through all of it, I spotted the perfect hiding place: an old cage covered by some sort of black sheet. It was big enough for me to sit in a normal position; plus with all the boxes that were inside, I couldn't be spotted easily. Crawling inside of it, I pushed slowly a few boxes aside so I could hide in the middle of it.

I could hear a few voices around the place I was hiding in. Soldiers were talking about some sort of "secret material that should be dumped in Pulse for safety". That caught my ear... What could be that be? I left my thoughts as I felt the ground under me moving. They are probably moving this cage into the train. Everything is going as planned... . I took a deep breath as I waited patiently to be delivered inside the train without any issue. This happened after 20 minutes of hearing soldiers making a lot of effort to push the apparently heavy cage into the train. After they closed the door, I felt the train finally moving. I felt relieve all over my senses. The trip would last a couple of hours so I reached for my bag to grab a snack and some water. Was when I started to think about Serah and how she would she react as soon as she noticed her sister was gone...

I should had left a note at least..., I sighed. Everything that was happening wasn't her fault at all. She wasn't the issue... He was. Well, he couldn't have all the blame, at least this time. It was my fault as well; that's why I took the decision of stepping away for some time. I shook my head. Focus Lightning., I told myself. After getting some food and water on my stomach, I started to fell rather sleepy. Guess it's normal, I haven't sleep properly in weeks.... I started to battle, but my eyelids were so heavy that I eventually lost the battle and felt asleep.

I woke up later with a annoying noise ringing on my ears. I rubbed my eyes and attempted to look around but was way too dark to see. My guess? Was night time already. And the noise? The train was coming to a stop. I decided it would be safer to just wait patiently for the cage to be removed so I could make my way out in safety, avoiding unnecessary confrontations. Still, I needed to be careful. They would be removing the boxes around me soon enough; I needed to move out before that.

As soon as I felt the train stop, I grabbed my bag and crawled outside the cage, making my way to the door. I hid near it, waiting for it to be open. Soon enough, two soldiers walked inside the train, making their way to the cage. They looked around but luckily neither of them spot me. I noticed they would be busy taking the boxes; was my chance of sneaking out. I stepped outside in a swift movement, taking a few seconds to glance at the surroundings. Hiding against a pillar, I spotted more soldiers approaching the train. Guess I got out right on time.

Moving cautiously, I looked around for an exit. I spotted it soon enough; but it was being guarded by two soldiers well armed. The rest must be unloading the train; my best chance is to take those down and leave as fast as I can. It will probably trigger some kind of alarm... But I plan to be far away when they found out. I began to approach carefully without being seen, taking a closer inspection at the exit; that was when I saw a camera. Better take it down first. Will work perfectly as a distraction, I thought, as I began quietly to cast thunder. It hit the camera in a flash, tearing it in pieces. The soldiers got started up and turned their backs on me, inspecting the place where the camera was before. Tsk, amateurs. I quickly grabbed my gunblade and, turning it into blade mode, I started to ran towards the two soldiers.

They barely had time to react; a few slashes later they were lying on the floor. That was too easy..., I thought to myself. But soon enough the alarm went on; every soldier started to make their way to the place I was. How in the name of... And that's when I noticed an alarm trigger in the hand of one of the soldiers I just took out. Crap, he must had pressed it once I blew the camera. Saving my gunblade away, I opened the gate just when the soldiers were reach me. As I noticed all the gun that were locked on me, I began to ran as fast as I could, dodging a few bullets on the process. As I was close enough to reach some sort of waterfall, one of the bullets got me right on the left hip. Damn it! I felt flat on the ground, almost unable to move due to the pain. That was when I noticed the waterfall.

Guess I don't have a choice...
Using all my strength, I made my way to the edge of the cliff. I felt the soldiers stop, pointing all their guns on me again. There was no escape.

- Turn around, hands on the air. There's no escape route; either way you die. I advise you to give up and show your face. - One of the soldiers spoke, probably their boss.

- Tsk. Like I would. - I replied, not concerned at all about what could happen next.

- As you wish... Kill her!

Oh no you wont... I thought, as I let myself fall down the waterfall. All eyes were on me; but I didn't care. I closed my eyes as I felt my body getting closer and closer to the bottom. The pain on my hip was nothing compared to the pain I was feeling on my heart; soon enough I hit the water, my body being pushed deep and deep down. I didn't even struggle to come to the surface; that was all I deserved for hurting my own sister. I wanted to cry but I couldn't... and then all became black.