Chapter 2

The hiss of machinery echoed in her ears. Her shoulder blades ached from the dull pain. There was a bright light shining in her eyes. She lifted her hands to shield her face, but felt a gentle tug on her arms. She struggled to open her eyes, and as she did, she could see the vague outline of wires.

As she gained clarity, she turned her head to see blinking lights and flashes of glowing screens. She turned the other way, coming face to face with a fierce looking woman with icy green eyes.

“Hello,” she whispered. “My name is Tarja, what do you call yourself?” the woman asked. She reached out her hand, putting her hand on her own. The woman thought. She couldn’t think of anything, and shook her head.

“I don’t.” the woman kindly smiled. “Well then, I’ll give you a name myself.” She thought for a moment, and smiled. “Sharon. We’ll call you Sharon.” She smiled back.

“That sounds nice.” She nodded. “I am called Sharon then.” Tarja turned to a man wearing goggles. “Stefan, get Adriel. She’s awake.” The man nodded and headed off. Tarja turned back and smiled. “You know, it’s not every day we find someone falling from the sky.” Sharon’s eyes widened.

“Is that where I came from?” Tarja nodded. Sharon looked down at the tubes in her arms.

“What are these for?” she asked.

“To check your vitals, to make sure you are alright.” Tarja explained. Just then, Adriel and Stefan came into the room. The man next to Stefan was tall and well-built with short, scruffy auburn hair that framed his boyish face. There was a hint of stubble as he smiled.

“Well, you’re awake! That’s good!” he pulled up a chair and casually sat on it backwards. “Do you have a name?” he asked.

“Sharon.” Tarja stepped forward and put her hand on Sharon’s shoulder. “I gave it to her, because she said she didn’t have one.” Adriel nodded.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Sharon.” He clapped his hands. “So, we were all sort of wondering, do you know how you came to fall from the sky?” he asked. Sharon shook her head.

“No, why?” she asked. Adriel chuckled.

“Well, we don’t know ourselves, we were hoping you would.” He turned to Tarja. “You’re in charge of her now. Show her around and explain things.” Tarja nodded. Adriel got up and put his hand on her shoulder. “Be careful.” He said. And with one last pat, he went off.

“I will,” Tarja called softly back. He waved as he walked out of sight, speaking with a couple other Resistance members.

“You like him, don’t you?” Sharon whispered. Tarja blushed.

“What? Who? Adriel? Phht, no.” she turned red. Sharon smiled.

“I think he likes you too.” Tarja shot her a look.

“Don’t be absurd, he’s the leader of the Resistance.” She protested. “He and I don’t have time for such childish emotions.” Though, as she turned away from her, Sharon could see a faint smile creep upon her face.

Soon, Stefan came back to check her vitals. “She should be fine now,” he said, and began unhooking her from the machines. Sharon rubbed her arms as she sat up, itchy from the needles and tape. Tarja held out her hands a\for her to take. Reluctantly, Sharon reached out for them.

“Come with me.” Tarja led her out of the room and down spiral hallways. The entire structure was made of metal; scrap was hastily welded together in most parts, while some parts seemed to be properly put together. A hodgepodge of an architectural feat.

“This is Home Base,” Tarja explained. “The command center for the Resistance. We’re located deep within the desert. It lowers the possibility of infiltration and being discovered by the ITF.” She turned to Sharon. “Imperial Task Force. Our enemy.” She elaborated.

*****

She stopped at a glass tube, and opened the metal box to the side that was bolted to the wall. There were five buttons in the box: green, red, orange, yellow and blue. She pressed the blue button, and another tube shot down as the outside shell opened. She turned to Sharon.

“Go ahead,” she ushered her in. Tarja stepped in afterwards and opened yet another metal box, and pressed the yellow button. The door slowly closed and sealed itself with a soft hiss. “Brace yourself.” She signaled for her to hold onto the bar sticking out of the side. As Sharon firmly grasped it, they shot left and upward. Sharon began to panic as she felt her feet briefly leave the floor.

As the elevator abruptly halted, the ladies dismounted. Sharon stumbled out, looking positively green. “You’ll be alright;” Tarja reassured her. “Everyone has that reaction the first few times.” They walked into another room, which was the garage. She grabbed the keys to the aeroscooter. “Come on.” Tarja sat up front, and Sharon positioned herself in the back. “Hold on tight.” Tarja advised. Sharon wrapped her arms around Tarja as they shot off through the barren landscape.

*****

The dunes blended into one another as the minutes passed by. There was nothing, save for a cactuar here and there. Several miles off, Sharon could see something in the distance. “What’s that?” she asked,

“That is the Al Bhed settlement.” Tarja answered. “They are the only people besides us out here, willing to brave the harsh desert. We’ve never seen any of the ITF out here, so that’s why it’s safe.”

“What exactly is the ITF, anyway?” asked Sharon. They were enemies, after all. She should probably know what they were up against.

“The Imperial Task Force works for the Emperor. They are in charge of ‘relocation,’ and ‘citizen security.’” She scoffed. “The task force’s main goal is to ‘protect the citizens and relocate them to a safer destinations, as their current habitat is unfit for living.” She shook her head. “All they do is kidnap citizens and commit genocide of the Undesirables. That way, the Empire has even more control.” Sharon pursed her lips.

“How did the Empire get this way?” she asked. Tarja turned to her.

“Let me show you something first.” She said. “You have to see it to believe it.”

*****

About twenty minutes later, they approached the capitol, Spira. They landed on a skyscraper. As they dismounted, Sharon took a look at the vast city. There were towering monuments and temples, set against skyscrapers and condos, which were an eyesore on what used to be the natural beauty of the landscape.

“What is this place?” she asked. She spotted a giant bell tower, and even farther in the distance, heaven-reaching turrets.

“This is Nalmasca, our home.” Sharon grimaced as she saw black smoke billowing out of factories, and broken down buildings on every street.

“This doesn’t seem like much.” Tarja sighed.

“Long ago, there were two kings. One was very kind, and was very cruel. To appease the cruel king, the kind king begged the god, Yorun to appease the cruel king. Yorun agreed, but upon one condition: No one but the king to whom the gift was bestowed, could behold its treasures.” She paused, looking out into the distance.

“What happened then?” asked Sharon, eager for more. Tarja looked over at her with sad eyes.

“It failed. Unbeknownst to the king, whom had grown kind with Yorun’s gift, it had been unsealed by another. Yorun took his revenge upon the king, ravaging the land and plunging the world into chaos. With all hope lost, the king sought dark power, and tore the land to bits. This,” she motioned to the city. “Is what we inherited. A war, raging for a thousand years, continues today, in this barren wasteland.” She turned to Sharon. “And that’s how we lost our paradise.”

“Why don’t you just find a new home?” asked Sharon. Tarja shook her head.

“It’s not that simple;” she said. “The Empire controls the weather with a machine in the capitol city,” she pointed to the turrets in the distance. “Right now, we are in the capitol prefecture, Spira. The machine lies within the bowels of the Imperial city, Bevelle.”

“Why would you fight for something so…lost?” Sharon asked. “It seems like a pile of garbage. This is what you’re fighting for? This hardly seems like paradise.” she asked. Tarja smiled and nodded.

“I wouldn’t expect an outsider to understand, but,” she motioned to the city. “No, it’s not a paradise. But this is what we’ve got, and this is how far we’ve come. But it’s all we’ve got, and it’s all we’ve been fighting for.” She grabbed onto Sharon’s shoulder, her eyes piercing into her soul. “Though it’s not paradise, it’s ours.” 

END OF CHAPTER 2