Chapter II

Chilly, icy rain sprinkled gently from the thunderous, shadowy sky as it continued to play its flawless demonstration of flashing and alternating lights. The cold rain soaked the black dog's rough pelt as he mutely explored the terrain ahead of him. Fenrir was vigilant as he watched and listened to the thin forest, taking note of even the tiniest of sounds and actions. His paws touched the ground lightly as they followed his black, leathery nose. The ground stunk of decaying matter and ash, but there was a faint smell of something unique that kept the dog full of curiosity and seemed to be leading towards Gongaga. After a couple of minutes or so of processing sights, sounds and smells through his brain, Fenrir would glance back over his shoulder to make sure his human companion was trailing not too far behind him. Cloud was only several feet away from the animal traveling with a somewhat quick pace. He was shivering slightly, with a rather acrimonious expression stuck on his face. He searched his coat pockets for a moment before pulling out and slipping on his gloves to warm his hands. He then equipped his hunter bow in one hand while the other tugged up the zipper of his thick coat for more warmth. The temperature always grew colder when the rain fell, and heavy rain was surely to come. Time was ticking away and nightfall was coming. Fast.

The man's breathing was loud as he inhaled and exhaled through his mouth. He tried to keep his breathing calm, but it only made his breathing louder. He was growing tired, and his strength was draining rapidly. His stomach ached, his head throbbed, and everything seemed to hurt. He felt absolutely miserable and a bit angry like he did almost every day. But today, he was pretty pissed off that he had lost so much time fighting off those damn robbers. Timing was something extremely crucial to Cloud, and the those two men destroyed it. Now he was stuck in the light rain, racing against time, the weather, and nightfall. And there was no way he could stop now. His victuals were limited, and they were only enough for tonight.

Abruptly, Cloud seized his pace and was quick to bend over. He desperately sucked in the rotting air, needing to fill his starving lungs. His hands went to his knees to keep his balance as he wheezed. He could feel the cold sweat beads gliding down his face and curving around his cheek bones until gravity pulled them down to the floor of dead leaves. His hand grabbed his hurting side that was smitten by a cramp. He winced a little and heard Fenrir galloping over to him.

"Ahhh maaan…" He groaned. He looked over at his furry friend who stood in front of him with a curious look. They stared at each other for a moment until the dog began to lick his face with a small wag in his tail. Cloud waved him off and gave a weak smile.

"I know, boy. We just gotta keep moving…I know." Cloud wiped the sweat and rain from his face with the back of his gloves before he stood back up. He took out a torn, ratty map from the back of his pocket. It was faded with pieces taped and glued together. He examined it for a quick moment, estimating where he was and how close he was to Gongaga. He wasn't too far off and anticipated that he would get there in a matter of the next four to five hours. And hopefully in time to make it before the rain really started to fall.

After four and a half grueling hours out in the dripping rain, Gongaga was finally within Cloud's sight. He stopped just at the entrance of the town while Fenrir pursued onward to inspect the location. The man gazed upon the shattered structures of the peaceful and serene place that once stood. Gongaga was a small town with nothing but only a few homes, a graveyard, and shops making up the place. Unfortunately, to Cloud's dismay, Gongaga was also burnt down and destroyed. Only a few buildings stood within the pile of rubble and ash that scattered the floor of the town. Even the local graveyard was demolished with only a couple of illegible tombstones standing. Various human skeletal bones also decorated the dusty land, with some shattered and some whole. Cloud dropped his head. He obviously was way too late. Gongaga could have been bombed and raided years ago. There was no way his uncle could have survived. A sense of hopelessness filled the young man's heart. He had to be dead.

But despite the tragic loss, the blonde moved on and decided to search his relative's abode for any source of food or water that might have survived in the attack. His uncle's home was the third house down and fortunately, was one of the few homes still standing. The brick home was fairly small with most of the roof missing and had a half standing front porch that was no longer white as Cloud had remembered. The matching chairs were full of dust and had fallen over to their sides. Cloud approached the door and lightly grasped the rigid door knob and tried to twist it. The door knob was securely locked, but as he pulled forward the door began to creek open. Immediately, the blonde released his grip from the knob and quickly took a step back from the door, ready to load and kill with his bow if anyone came out from the home. He titled his head a little to the side to see that the door had been pried open. Cloud turned his head over his shoulder to look for his dog who was trotting over after hearing the rather loud noise. He slowly knelt down until he was level with the black canine.

"All right, boy. I'm gonna let you go in first. Keep quiet," He whispered. The dog cocked his head and flickered his pointy ears before slipping through the tiny slit of the open door. Cloud soon went in after him, and forced the door open a little further in order for his frame to fit through.

The kitchen was dark with only faint streams of dusk light pouring through the cracks of the walls and the ceiling. Everything was a complete mess. Some of the cabinets were opened, broken dishes were scattered across the floor and counters, and blood stains and bullet holes were plentiful across the walls of pealing wallpaper. Fenrir's nose was guiding him in mixed directions. There were so many scents that filled his nostrils, but the strange scent that lingered back in the woods was still very much alive within the room. Cloud carried on, moving with stealth to each room. He checked the living room and the remains of the damaged bathrooms to make sure no one inhabited the house. After clearing the first floor Cloud slowly ascended up the broken stairs, taking precise and cautious steps. There were two bedrooms on the second floor, his uncle's room and a guest bedroom. He made is way first to the guest bedroom, carefully placing his gloved hand on the knob and twisted. The door opened, but just barely. He applied more pressure for a moment but the door refused to budge. He then took a quick peek through the small opening to find that the roof above the room had caved in.

Let's hope nobody was in that room…

Abandoning the door, Cloud went into the main bedroom. It was dim, plain room with a simple broken and tattered bed and a few fallen wooden dressers. There was a small window that was boarded up blocking up most of the little light that tried to sink through. Broken picture frames, glass, illegible books, ash, and rotting clothes filled the wooden floors. Just complete chaos. The blonde observed the room carefully, looking through all the drawers and scanning the floor for anything useful, or for pictures, or for the possible carcass of his uncle. But to Cloud's relief, there was no body to be found in the room or within the whole house. A flicker of burning hope filled his peculiar blue eyes. Maybe his uncle was still alive after all. Cloud sighed and took a quick peek through the small slots between the wooded boards of the window. Daylight was almost burnt out and the melodic rain continued to fall but with thicker drops.

Looks like I'm going to be camping in here tonight.

As the man was walking away from the window he noticed something below the window. There was a faint incision in the wall in the shape of a rectangle half hidden by the headboard of the bed. He cocked his head to the side in puzzlement. Curious, Cloud hooked his bow onto his backpack and began moving the queen sized bed. He pulled the headboard with a couple of hard yanks and managed to move the bed over enough to see the wall incision. He knelt down in front of it and removed the switch blade from his belt and jammed it through the wall slit. Pulling the blade forward, he was able to remove the geometric shape and revealed to be a hidden compartment. Inside sat a dusty, oak box. Taking it in both of his hands, Cloud stood up and eagerly opened it.

Inside were golden and various jewelry, a small blue velvet jewelry bag, some gil, a folded letter and a buckskin casing. He took the small, yellow stained letter from the box and unfolded it. He was familiar with the majestic font and ink that was used in the writing. It was his uncle's.

Cloud –

I don't know if you'll ever read this, but if you are, thank goodness you're alive!
If you are reading this, I know that tragedy has probably struck our family yet again.
And I know that your mother told you to come after me.
You're probably wondering why I'm not in Gongaga with you. And I'm terribly sorry I'm not.
But I must inform you that my immediate leave was required and absolutely necessary.
I had to depart because I am a part of the rebellion organization against Shinra known as AVALANCHE.
It's a bit hard to explain in a small note about everything that's happened…but I do want you to know that I will still be alive when you find this.
Again, I apologize that I am not in Gongaga and unfortunately you will still have to persist on finding me.
In fact, you need to find me. You have to find me.
Why? Because your precious life depends on it.
Where do you need to go? North Corel. It's one of AVALACHE's base locations.
It's where you'll be safe and where hopefully I will meet you.
In this box, I placed some of my own personal items that will benefit you while on the road.
This is no easy journey, Cloud, as you have already experienced. Death lurks around every corner and fate is in your own hands.
But I have faith in you. You always were a brilliant, witty intellectual and had tough courage.
And I know you don't go anywhere without that drooling mutt of yours. So I expect to see him too.
Always be on your guard and stay sharp, kiddo.
I'll keep you in my prayers.

– Uncle Reeve

Holy hell. North Corel?

Is he serious? That's all the way back up north!

How in the world am I gonna get all the way up there alive?

And who the hell is AVALANCHE?

What the hell happened here?

Folding up the note, Cloud placed it in his back pocket along with his map. He then examined the various jewelry left for him. There were pearls, golden lockets, and gems and a ring. He picked up the ring finding it had the same face of a fierce wolf as the metal ring on his finger. He took the pile of jewelry and placed it all inside the velvet bag. He unzipped his coat and placed the bag into one of his inside coat pockets. Cloud then took out the brown leather casing and dropped the wooden box on the floor. He took off the buckskin casing to find a large clip-point knife. It was long, about half an arm's length, and clean with a sharp edge. It was hand crafted with a wooden handle strapped with leather for better gripping. The blonde smiled. Just what he liked.

As Cloud was putting his new knife away, he heard an outbreak of dog barks downstairs and a foreign, small voice accompanying it. Instantly, Cloud left the room and crept down the staircase to observe the commotion going on in the kitchen. He stopped at the last step and stood with his back against the wall. He loaded his bow as quietly as he could and peeked around the wall.

The German shepherd stood in a shifty stance, but seemed rather calm than threatening. His barks were strident, but not hostile. Cloud was slightly baffled by Fenrir's reaction to the intruder. But he continued to watch, trying to keep his relaxed state.

"Shhh! Shut up, you stupid dog! Get out of here…please…shoo!"

Extending his head out a little more, Cloud saw a small figure hiding inside of one of the ground kitchen cabinets. It was a young woman who looked about the same age as himself. She had thick long, dark brown hair that fell to the middle of her back with side bangs hanging at her forehead. Her brown eyes had a strange red wine hue to them and illuminated against her ivory skin tone. She wore a slimming black double breasted jacket and wore a plum colored scarf that hung loosely around her neck. She had on skinny jeans tucked under tall, black heeled boots and at her hands were fingerless gloves. She had a large gray side bag with her that was enveloped around her arm protectively as she tried to swat away the dog like he was some kind of bug.

"Go! Get! Come on…Get out of here, mutt!" The girl hissed as she tried to whisper. "Are you trying to get…"

Her voice faded as her eyes feasted upon a man emerging from the staircase with a loaded bow, aimed directly at her exposed neck. She froze in her cramped position within the cabinet and stared blankly at the marksman as he inched closer to her. The dog quieted a little as Cloud approached, but his deep stare was still fixated on the brunette.

"Get out," He commanded. Submissive, she grabbed her gray bag and crawled out of the small space and slowly got to her feet. She tugged at the collar of her jacket, feeling his dead aim on her flesh. He could feel her uneasiness.

"Let me guess…you want my bag, right?"

"Drop it."

"All right, calm down…" The girl muttered and placed her bag gently to the ground. A few clanks were heard from the inside of it. But suddenly, the woman started towards the man with her hands shifting to her coat pockets. Cloud tensed up and was ready to shoot and take off her head.

"Get back!" He demanded with a voice loud and rough.

"You won't shoot me…" She taunted, sounding entirely certain.

"Just watch me," Cloud replied as he closed an eye and targeted her fleshy neck.