Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 1: Arrival

FOUR

The trails winding between Sector 6 and Sector 7 were quiet today as Jessie and I made our way to her next stop. We had seen quite a few eaters over the past two weeks since I had started to accompany her on these little trips of hers. They usually attacked in small groups, four or five at the most, but hadn't been too difficult for us to overcome. I had also noticed that Jessie was growing more relaxed in battle, and we had developed a rhythm of sorts. She would cover me with her gun while I rushed in with Buster and slashed away.

I stopped as a nearby sign caught my attention. I'd noticed a few of them here and there all across the slums but hadn't actually read any of them until now. Jessie stopped along with me when she spotted what I was looking at. It was a wooden sign with a short message scrawled on it in bold, messy letters:

Don't let Shinra fool you!
Mako energy won't last forever!
It's the lifeblood of the planet!
And someday it'll be gone!
Protectors of the planet:
Avalanche

"Avalanche?" I wondered. "Who are these guys?"

Jessie swallowed, not meeting my eyes. "I... I've heard about them. They believe Shinra's killing the planet. And us along with it."

I glanced at her. "What do you think?"

"Well, um... I don't know. Maybe. What about you?"

"Doesn't matter to me," I said. "Handwriting's terrible, though. Did a kid do this or something? And it's covered in graffiti."

Streaks of spray-painted pictures and messages, some more vulgar than others, covered the sign and the post in a riot of clashing colors. It didn't look like the people around here cared very much for Avalanche, whoever they were. I didn't blame them. The group sounded like it was just a bunch of crazies looking for attention.

Jessie folded her arms in front of her and sighed. "So what if it's not perfect? The message still gets through."

"I guess. Doesn't seem like people are listening, though."

"Yeah," she agreed. "Looks that way."

I shrugged. "Well, whatever. I doubt they'll be able to do much."

"W-What!?" Jessie stared at me.

"I just don't think they have a clue what they're up against. Shinra's way too powerful, Jessie."

She had to know that. There was no way a tiny group from here in the slums had any chance of bringing down Shinra. They would just be a minor nuisance at best, like a fly bothering a behemoth. And sooner or later, Shinra would swat that fly and crush it. Then Avalanche's little crusade to save the planet would be over.

She frowned. "At least they're trying, Cloud."

"Won't make a difference," I said.

"Don't be so sure," Jessie countered. "They might just surprise you. I wouldn't go writing their epitaphs just yet."

We were just starting to get moving again, but before we could get underway, we heard the sound of scuttling legs around us. As I reached over my shoulder for Buster, Jessie let go of the cart and drew her gun. But as I stood there with her, I thought there was something odd about the sound. I couldn't figure it out at first, and a glance at Jessie told me she had noticed the same thing.

"What do you make of it?" I asked.

She pursed her lips. "Sounds like there's more of them."

Suddenly, a swarming mass of the insect-like creatures scuttled out from behind several piles of junk ahead of us. There must have been at least a dozen of them, maybe twice that many. At first, I wondered why they had shown up in such a large group, but then I remembered what Wedge had said about them having nests. One of them must have been nearby, and we had walked right into it.