Shattered Dreams & Sleeping Pills Chapter 7
Rebellion
By WindWolf
"Will she be alright?"
"I don’t know. All we can do is hope that the mako is retrievable. Down here, we don’t have anything better to give her but new antidotes every couple of hours."
"I hope she gets better."
"There’s a good chance that she will. I’m curious about that scar though."
"Scar?"
"Yes, the one running across her chest. It looks like the cut was very deep. If she survived that, I’m sure she can pull through this."
"I hope so."
Tifa opened her eyes slowly. Other than a throbbing pain in her arm, she felt rather refreshed. Sitting up, she looked around the room for the people whose voices she had heard, but couldn’t find them. The room itself was surprisingly clean. There was a window by the bed which looked out onto the street. The bed was positioned so that the large metal door was behind her. On the opposite wall, there was a desk with some scattered papers on it. Above the desk were vials of several different medicines, which were carefully arranged on three plain wooden shelves. The lamp on the desk provided the only light in the small office. As she cast her eyes about the room, Tifa noticed another light suspended from the ceiling on the opposite side of the room.
Wanting to stretch her legs, Tifa threw the thin covers off and stood up. She went to walk over to the door, but stubbed her right toe on a chair which sat beside the bed. Crying out in pain, Tifa held her toe and hopped over towards the door.
The three people in the other room heard her yell, and went to check on her. They opened the door just as Tifa reached it. Not expecting the door to open, Tifa crashed right into it and was sent flying to the floor.
"Are you alright?" a man asked, crouching down beside her.
Tifa sat up and put a hand to her head. "Yeah, I’m okay, I think. My head hurts now though."
"I’m sorry about that. We didn’t know you were there."
"It’s okay. No permanent damage done, I hope." She looked up at Marlene and her father who were standing just inside the door. Still holding her head, Tifa stood up and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Maybe you should lie down some more," the doctor suggested.
"No, I’m fine." She looked over at Marlene, "What are you two doing here?"
"Marlene was worried ‘bout you, and wanted to stay ‘till you woke up," the man answered.
"Oh, thanks. But you didn’t have to do that."
"Yeah, well, I owe ya one fer savin’ Marlene."
"It was no big deal. To tell you the truth, I was afraid you’d gotten yourself killed."
"Nah, Biggs, Jessie an’ Wedge helped me out with those soldiers. We didn’t really meet. I’m Barret, an’ this here’s Marlene."
"I’m Tifa."
"Yeah, Marlene told me. Listen, thanks fer savin’ her." Turning to the doctor, he said, "Hey doc! How much are all these antidotes gonna cost?"
"500 gil."
"500 gil?! That’s a rip-off! You only gave her three!"
"Gotta make a living somehow."
Grumbling, Barret stuffed his hand into his pocket and pulled out a wad of bills. Counting off five hundred, he handed them to the doctor, still complaining about being ripped off.
"You don’t have to do that you know," Tifa protested standing up again.
"You saved Marlene, so I’m payin’ fer your damn medicine!"
"I can pay for myself."
"Yeah? Where’s your money?"
"Well, I don’t have any here, but I’m sure my boss will give me a loan or something."
"No. I’m payin’ fer your medicine. Listen, Tifa right? Me’n the others have been talkin’. Shinra’s destroying the planet with their goddamn mako reactors. It’s about time someone did sumthin’. We’re all meetin’ at The Black Hole. Why don’t ya join us?"
"I work at The Black Hole. Something tells me I’ll be a little busy. Why are you asking me anyway?"
Barret moved over to where Marlene stood by the door and picked her up. "Ya had to have had a reason to go after those two guards. No one else was. Even if you’re working, drop by the table to see what we’re talkin’ about. Ya might want to get in on it. Say bye to Tifa Marlene," he said, looking up at her.
"Bye Tifa!"
"Bye Marlene."
The two left the room, and walked out into the street. Tifa shook her head, and after thanking the doctor again, left as well. Walking home, Tifa thought about what Barret had said. He’d hinted heavily along the lines of a rebel group. Whatever crazy Shinra-defying plans he had, Tifa vowed to stay out of it. She’d gotten into enough trouble with Shinra already. The last thing she needed was more.
.