Chapter 8: On the Shoreline
"See ya later!"
"Be careful and try not to get into any trouble!" Quistis yelled back at Ellone, who had already emerged into the trees.
She sighed, "Why do I even try?"
Quistis shrugged as she stole one last glance at the forest and then turned back to the path she must follow. She began to walk along the beach, letting the waves flow towards her. She was just close enough for the water to wet the bottom of her feet and her toes.
She cupped her hand to her eyes, creating a sort of visor against the sun. Quistis stared down the beach at the black dot that had caught her attention. Could it possibly be a living thing? She looked harder at the dot and was sure that it had moved.
Quistis gasped, "Hello!"
She began to dash down the beach, kicking up sand as she went. "Hello! He-llo!" she yelled down the beach at what she thought could be one of the missing persons.
She barreled down the way, and as she went, the black dot began to take the shape of a person. Quistis could soon make out legs and arms, a dark toned skin color, wearing a blue vest, black pants, and had a red rope tired around their waist. It was Raijin, or some island tribal who was a dead ringer for him.
"Raijin!!" Quistis called. "Hey, Raijin!"
As she yelled, the person froze. He turned to face her and lifted his hand as if waving.
"He-ll-o!" he yelled and then began to run down the beach to meet her.
Quistis sighed in relief as he approached her. "Raijin! I can't believe I found you!"
"Hey, Quistis," Raijin puffed out with the little breath he had left. "I'm..... so glad...... ta see ya, .......ya know?"
Quistis looked him up and down, and sat down on the sand. She gestured for him to sit beside her so she could asked him some questions about what had happened to him.
"Your not looking so good," Quistis giggled. "Tell me what happened. I know that you went out fishing with Seifer, but what.......?"
"Happened?" Raijin finished her question. "Well, ya know, I don't really know where to begin."
Raijin scratched his head, and Quistis urged him to continue.
"Umm, well, when Seifer and me met Zell," Raijin started but was immediately interrupted.
"Zell?" Quistis asked hopefully. "He was with you?"
"Yeah," Raijin nodded. "Our boat broke and then we saw Zell's boat and used fishin' poles to reel him in. I accidentally dumped all his equipment into the water. He was really mad 'cause he couldn't call anyone for help."
Quistis shook her head. Now, that must have been the reason that the communication system between Zell and the Garden went dead.
"Anywayz, the storm came an' we's were tryin' ta get ta Naoki Island." Raijin hesitated. "But we couldn't see through the storm an' Seifer an' Zell got in another fight."
"Another fight?" Quistis asked, having a feeling of foreboding.
"Yeah," Raijin explained. "They don't really get along, ya know?"
"I can imagine," Quistis rolled her eyes. "But they didn't hurt each other, right?"
Raijin looked at her with doubt-filled eyes. "Ummm, well, Zell's leg is....... and Seifer's hand....... they both are pretty bruised and.... cut up."
Quistis stared at him with a horrified look. "Where are they now?"
Raijin was taken aback. "They're in the cave, o' course. We used it for shelter when the storm was still goin' on."
"You left them alone, in an enclosed space, when they've already engaged in a number of fights." Quistis sat up, straight as an arrow and stared at Raijin, waiting for him to answer.
"Yeah," Raijin said slowly, looking down at the ground. "Seifer told me ta go an' see if I could find anything that washed up from our boat or even parts of our boat."
"Your boat.....?"Quistis stood up, more worried than ever about Zell and Seifer, but still interested in knowing what had happened while they were at sea. "You didn't get to the island on the boat?"
"Nope," Raijin shook his head. "We capsized. I had to swim all the way, carrying Zell 'cause he was unconscious. An' Seifer swam, too, but without usin' any driftwood like I did. He's really strong, ya know? Then, we all met in the forest an' went to the cave."
"Alright, okay, this is just fine," Quistis, who had been standing, seated herself back down on the sand and began fingering through her backpack. "Ah, here it is."
She pulled out a laptop computer with a headset attached to it. Placing it on her head she fixed the microphone to be next to her mouth and the earpiece to be situated correctly in order for her to be able to hear and talk without trouble. Raijin peeked over her shoulder as she typed in the SeeD access code to the Ragnarok's main computer's communications system. Quistis continued to sound an automatic alarm to gain the attention of one of the airship's passengers. Finally, an answer came from over the headset in a broken transition.
"He....o? Quis.....can..... 'ear me?" asked Selphie.
"Selphie? There's too much static. Try turning the big knob to level 7 or 8," Quistis explained into the microphone as she adjusted the level on her own headset in hopes of establishing a better connection.
"Turn.....wha......?" Selphie questioned.
"The big knob to level 7 or 8. Just turn the BIG KNOB," Quistis stressed as she tried to get the message across.
"Big...ob? Umm..oh! Found it! Quisty? Can you hear me now?" Selphie asked hopefully after she had reset the dial to level 8.
"Loud and clear," Quistis giggled.
"So, Quisty, what did you find out? Did you find Zell?" asked Selphie without delay.
"Well, I have yet to actually see Zell or Seifer," Quistis hesitated, "but Raijin's here with me right now and he has assured me that they're both on this island."
"Oh my god!" Selphie yelped for joy. "You better not be kidding with me, Miss Quistis Trepe."
"I swear it's true!" Quistis exclaimed excitedly. "You two better stop flying around Yali Island and head on over here. I have to wait for Ellone to come back anyway so I'll be on the shoreline, about four miles north from our drop off point."
"Sounds great," Selphie told her without hesitation. "I'll tell Irvine to turn this ship around right away. We'll be there in thirty minutes tops!"
"Sure," Quistis nodded, "see ya then!"
With that Quistis took off her headset and look at Raijin, who was lying down in the sand waiting patiently for her to end her conversation with Selphie. As he sat up to talk to her, she noticed that his hand seemed to hold his side as if he were injured.
"Is there something the matter with your side?" Quistis asked, as she looked him up and down, realizing how many bruises and gashes covered his skin.
"Jus' a lil' cut, ya know," Raijin answered with a shrug.
Quistis raised her eyebrows skeptically, "A little cut?"
She made him raise his hand up to reveal a huge, bloody gash in his side.
"Hmm......" Quistis thought. "I'll just use some of the magic that I drew to heal you right up, good as new!"
Raijin nodded and told Quistis that she had his complete cooperation.
"Alright then," Quistis mumbled to herself as she stood up and braced herself. "Here it goes."
Quistis raised her hand up into the air and closed her eyes in concentration. Taking a deep breath, she summoned the cure magic as it began to collect in her hand, a bright blue orb of light formed. Sensing that it was time, Quistis brought her hand containing the shining orb down and shot the magic out towards Raijin. The ball of light broke into a million of streams of light, heading right for Raijin. They had just begun to wrap around him when there was a sudden earth-rattling sound, like an explosion. It shook the island and made Quistis lose her balance and focus. She stumbled to the ground and the blue healing light dispersed into thin air.
Raijin bent down to help Quistis to her feet. "Are ya okay?"
"Yeah," Quistis said as she shook the sand off of herself. "What was that?"
They both stared back at the forest, each wondering the same thing. Did something happen to Seifer and Zell? Quistis shivered. She had a horrible feeling..........whether it was Zell, Seifer, or even Ellone, someone was in trouble.
Raijin sighed, "I think I better get back to Seifer, ya know."
Quistis turned back to him with a smile, "Why don't you wait with me for Selphie and Irvine. They'll be here soon and we can wait for Ellone to get back, too. Then, we'll all go to the cave together and get off of this island as quickly as possible! I can't wait to get home, can you?"
Raijin smiled back at her, "........home......."
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