FINAL FANTASY XIII: Reminiscence Tracer Of The Memories

C9: Breathless (Caius Ballad)

I hear hurried, flopping footsteps coming towards me. The undignified slapping of loose shoes is inevitable; the military boots are a bad fit for their owner. I hear him complain under his breath, from time to time, about how scarce supplies are, how it’s next to impossible to get shoes that fit.

The young man running towards me with a gun on his shoulder is a member of the militia, here to ensure my safety while I do my reporting. He told me he’s received no training from the military, that up until a little while ago, he was only a student. Not even students are spared, they have to take up weapons and fight. This is the reality of this civil war.

“This is bad! We’re in danger here!”

The young man’s features are contorted by anxiety. I understand what he means a heartbeat later. A missile lands on the building right across from us.

The deafening roar is followed by a violent eruption of smoke, and small pieces of debris rain upon us. The young man is used to this, and he leaps nimbly for cover, but all I can do is stand around, stupidly. We were lucky. If the missile had landed just a little nearer we would have been blown away by the shock wave, or maybe even find ourselves crushed by large chunks of rubble.

My luck runs out the next moment.

The impact from the blast batters me all over. The second missile explodes nearby, and my consciousness takes flight.

-Chapter 9: Breathless-

I come to myself, and stop.

I don’t know how, but I’ve been on my feet, walking. And I’m not alone. I’m part of a group of a few dozen men, all trudging in the same direction, headed somewhere.

I know I was blown away by a missile and I blacked out after that, but I can’t for the life of me recall why I’m walking with these people. Did I wake up and get away, completely delirious, and somehow joined this procession? Maybe, in my desperation, I lost my memories – I don’t know. It must be the shock from the blast, but I feel light and dizzy. The ringing in my ears is so loud I’d be lucky to be able to hear anything.

I stand unmoving, and the group goes on ahead, leaving me behind. A few of them look like soldiers, but citizens make up the overwhelming majority. They must be a band of refugees. I try to look for the young man who was my guide, but I don’t see him.

Everyone looks completely exhausted. They walk unsteadily, shoulders slumped.

“Are you alright? Where are you headed?”

I try talking to them, but no one replies. I get nothing from them, not even a sigh. Or maybe someone said something, only I wasn’t able to hear them, not with the ringing in my ears.

I give up and decide to follow them. We are surrounded by a pale darkness, and it looks like night is almost upon us. I know I blacked out just a little after noon, so I must have been out of it for hours. And it isn’t just the passing of time I’ve failed to notice; somehow or other, I’ve covered some distance. I’d been in the middle of investigative reporting around town, but there isn’t a single building to be seen, not out here among the desolate wilderness. I look up and there’s only a dark, cloudy sky. I don’t think the sun has set, not yet, but it’s nowhere to be seen. Deep, dark shadows puddle about my feet, and I can’t see why.

Something strange is going on here.

Eventually the road turns into a long, uphill battle. The upwards climb knocks the wind out of me, but no one else has to stop to catch their breath. The sound of my ragged breathing mingle with the footsteps of these silent walkers.

I make it past the slope, and find myself at the top of a small hill.

A gasp escapes me.

A dark ocean lies before me. Or maybe it’s a lake, or a massive river. Beyond the dark waters that flow like darkness itself, shadows hang like a shroud, and I can see neither horizon nor the opposite shore. But one thing’s for sure. Lake or river, it shouldn’t be here. My work as a reporter brought me to a landlocked region. No big lakes, no rivers, nothing.