Revitalized Dream (Book Three)

Year Five, Day Fifty-Five

Sam POV

Numbness. Shock. Then, comes the overwhelming pain. The last person left from my old life is gone forever. I want to deny it, to tell myself it isn't true, but deep inside, I know it is all too real. She's gone. Aerith is gone.

It's been a few days now, but everything stills seems to pass by in a haze. I know we gave her a burial by water. I remember letting her limp body slip away from me into the depths of the lake. I remember Tifa hugging me and guiding me back to shore, but I can't recall anything she said to me.

And now, here I sit dejectedly on a bed. How I got to this inn is a mystery to me. An anesthetic fog lies over my mind, keeping me from thinking clearly. What...what now?

A soft knock comes from the door. I say nothing, not exactly open to socializing. The door opens regardless of this, and Tifa steps inside, a steaming bowl in her hands. By the savory aroma, I'm guessing it's some kind of stew. Beef, perhaps? No, it's smells different from that.

"Hey, Sam. I brought you some stew. I'm not sure what kind of meat it is, but it's still pretty tasty," she tells me, walking across the room to me. "You should try and eat something. If this isn't to your liking, I could try and find something else for you."

I can tell she's hurting, too, but she's trying to stay positive, to keep from falling into the same pit of denial and near narcosis as I have. I admire her for it, but my appetite is nonexistent. My body requires food, but hunger is lost to me now as well as every other feeling and emotion.

"Please, Sam. Please, say something. Let me know that you're still here," she whispers, sitting down beside me. "I don't want to lose you, too."

Finally, I stir a little. "Cloud...how is Cloud?"

The young woman with dark hair averts her eyes. "He's...he's not much better than you. He hasn't eaten or slept at all. He just sits in his room all day, staring at his hands. We've tried to convince him that what happened isn't his fault, but he won't believe us."

Boiling hot anger rushes up within me. "No, it isn't his fault. It's Sephiroth's."

Whatever feelings I may have had for the man with silver hair are completely gone, replaced by an all consuming hatred and lust for vengeance. All of this is his fault. Everything that has happened to me, to Cloud, to everyone. He's to blame for it all.

I scoop the bowl of stew from Tifa's hands and begin to consume it as fast as I can. I will need every ounce of strength I can muster, so I can kill him. I won't be satisfied until my blade is buried in his chest just like he did to Aerith. No, a stab through the heart is too merciful. I'll slice off each of his limbs and watch as he bleeds to death.

Author's Note

I apologize for my lack of a constant update schedule. This chapter is pretty short, but the next one will hopefully be longer. Thank you all for sticking with me even though I suck so badly.

So, this took a darker turn then I originally planned. Still, I hope you all will continue to enjoy reading my fic.