Title: Elusive

Author: Anyssia

Fandom: Final Fantasy VII (ficlet about my other fanfic: Guide)

Prompt: prompt 169 – Playground, Taming The Muse (LJ)

Warnings: no sex/violence, unbeta'ed (WriteOrDie contest: 1000 words in 90 min)

Rating: PG

Status: 1001 words, one-shot, 10/14/2009

Soundtrack: Brasilian Music, AOL’s radio station.

Summary: "They were on his heels again. Cloud snarled and ran behind yet another house, hoping to shake them off."

Notes: This ficlet is set in the universe of my other fanfic, ‘Guide’.

They were on his heels again. Cloud snarled and ran behind yet another house, hoping to shake them off. He had been running for ten minutes already and he was beginning to tire. The other boys were still following him, taunting with nasty words and hurling sharp stones at him.

He didn't know how long he was going to be able to escape them. He had tried every hiding place and streets of Nibelheim, but they seem determined to get him today. His skin and bruises hurt, his muscles burned, the air was wheezing from his lungs and his eyes stung from the sweat pouring from his forehead.

In a desperate move, Cloud veered off course, jumping over a fence, and ran toward the mountain. It was dangerous, especially now, in winter, but he didn't want to get caught once more. He wouldn't let them win this time.

He stumbled on a treacherous rock and almost crashed on the ground, head first. With a harsh cry, Cloud straightened up and accelerated a last time. A shadow on his left startled him and he berated himself silently. He had forgotten the ShinRa mansion looming in the background, away from the village itself.

The other boys were still pursuing him and one of them was getting ahead. Cloud cursed his short legs – he was already thirteen and still shorter than most of the younger boys in Nibelheim – and began to panic. There was no way that he would manage to stay in the lead and they were going to catch him and kick and punch him and his mom would tut and tell him to stop playing too hard with his friends...

He wasn't going to cry. His eyes stung worse than before, but it was because of the sweat. He wouldn't let them catch him nor would he let them see him cry on top of that. No way.

His legs were getting heavier by the second and he was puffing and panting and still couldn't catch his breath. The mountain was too far, he wouldn't make it and...

Without thinking more, Cloud turned sharply to the left, skidding on the gravel and barely keeping his balance, and raced up the mansion's path.

The bullies chasing him shouted and put a burst of speed as well. The ShinRa hadn't wanted to mix it's scientists with the locals and the mansion had been built out of the way. The path turned on itself so that the mansion was almost out of sight from the town's center, hidden behind trees and wedged against the mountain's rock face. It would be the perfect place for them to catch him.

Cloud forced himself to ignore them, focusing on the uneven lane, blinded by fear and pain. He vaulted over the fence without breaking his stride and ran around the building.

The house hadn't been opened for years, there was no way he would be able to push the front doors, but he needed to find a way in. The other boys were cowards and wouldn't put a feet in the haunted house, but they might be riled up enough to track him in the garden.

A half rusted drainpipe caught his eye. He quickly climbed up the wall, using it as a support, and knelt of a window ledge. A couple of windowpanes were broken and Cloud sighed in relief, slipping a hand through one of the missing pane to quietly unlock the window.

He could still hear the boys arguing near the fence. They weren't in a hurry to enter the yard, as they all knew it was a dead-end. Cloud couldn't leave anymore, but he could still hide.

He threw his shoulder against the window a few times, hard. It was jammed but desperation gave him strength and he finally managed to push it open a few centimeters. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for him to slip in.

Here he would be safe. Probably.

;;;

Cloud crept in the dusty room and pushed the window close. He stayed still for a while, spying outside to see if the brats would come to an agreement but after waiting over ten minutes and not seeing anyone coming, Cloud relaxed. They must have decided that he wasn't worth the bother. He turned around and took a good look at the room.

It was obviously a bedroom as there were two beds lining against the next wall. Apart from that, there wasn’t much – a dresser was wedged in a corner and each bed had a night stand. For all decoration, a painting hung on the opposite wall.

The dust covered everything, hiding the colors and patterns under a thick layer of gray grit. Cloud could perfectly see his footprints on the floor and even on the wall his fingers left trails of packed dust behind. He desperately needed to sneeze but managed to hold back.

The young boy tiptoed to the bed and reached out with a trembling hand. He caught a corner of the bedspread and turned it down delicately, before wrapping it up a few times, trapping the dust inside. That done, he let it slid off the bed and sat down on the edge.

The blanket under him smelled musty and the fabric was rough, but his heart was still beating at top speed and his whole body hurt. And in any case, he couldn't leave the mansion now; he needed to wait at least an hour or two for the bullies to lose interest in him.

Cloud lay down to rest for a while, his eyes roaming around the room. It felt strange to be here and the house didn't feel haunted or anything. He could hear nothing except for his own breathing and the creaks of the hold building.

This time, he would sleep until night fall, before sneaking back home to his mother. But maybe, later, it would be worth to come back and explore the place...

End