Chapter Six
It was odd, he found, that they could run through any substance that they wanted to, but if they touched it without the need to pass through it, it was totally solid. He tried not to think of that as they hurried through walls and fences, through people and trees, ducking down into basements only to burst up out of the earth. Roy didn't know what they were running from anymore, but the absolute fear on Maes' face and his constant 'don't look back's told him that they were fleeing from something.
They burst out of a shop, only to find themselves in a large, vast field of flowers. Panicking, they turned back, but the shop and everything else had vanished. For a moment, Maes was relieved, believing that they were free. And then he saw it. Quite a distance away, though it seemed to be catching up quite fast, was a dark shape. It was like a cloud of smoke or coal dust, and it would glitter with amazing colours if they looked at it from an angle. But Roy had no time to admire, as Maes had already grabbed his hand and started to run again.
The sky cracked above them, and the earth groaned, and suddenly they were in the middle of a busy street on a market day. Roy blinked curiously for a minute, realising that this was the Monday market from his childhood. "Maes - look!" A little way ahead of them, standing up on their tiptoes to see clearly at the stall, were two darkhaired boys. They couldn't be much more than seven or eight, the smaller of the two clutching a moth-eaten rabbit in one hand.
"How much're apples, Roy?" He heard the one wearing glasses ask, glancing around to spot his mother as his companion continued to strain to see the stall's contents. "I dunno. I can't see 'em." Their mothers were walking towards them, talking about every-day things, seeming to trust their children enough to be by themselves at times like this.
The pair watched their younger selves for a moment, before the older Maes grabbed Roy's hand and they began to run again. The world shift-blurred and cracked again, and Maes glanced curiously at Roy. The other male looked as if he was concentrating fiercely, biting his lower lip with a dribble of sweat rolling down one side of his face. "I'm hiding us." He stated as Maes raised an eyebrow.
He turned back, running again before tripping over something and breaking contact with Roy, who yelped, standing still. Their settings had changed again: a school classroom, desks and chairs scattered all over the place. A pair of boys - fourteen, this time - were stood in front of all of their classmates, showing their science homework project: alchemy, Roy remembered, he had insisted that they had done it.
The younger Roy looked a little nervous, though covered it over with a scowl, whereas the younger Maes was slouching slightly, as if he didn't care much for the attention, dipping in every now and then to help explain something. His best friend had done most of the work, and therefore knew more. The teacher seemed amazed at all of the things they had produced in two weeks, motioning for them to sit down. The younger Maes grinned at his best friend, who offered a shaky smile back.
And then the walls of the classroom fell away, the people grew thin and flat, vanishing into dust as Maes and Roy began to run again. "Where're we going?" Maes asked, even though he was leading, it was really Roy's mind that seemed to decide everything. "Anywhere," he answered, "Anywhere that we can hide."
They had been running for ages now, and found themselves reliving so many moments. But now they found themselves in a rather spacious bedroom, and Roy couldn't help but flop down on the large bed. "I'm so tired." Maes was about to suggest that they rest for a few minutes, which was what Roy had obviously intended, when the door flew open, two figures, both struggling to get each other's clothes off, stumbled in.
"I've never had such a worse case of déjà-vu before." Roy muttered, watching his drunken eighteen year old self. He moved off of the bed, listening to the others' conversation about whether it was okay to 'do it' in someone else's bed. But, as the younger Roy reasoned, Vicky had known it would happen when she invited everyone to her huge house and supplied alcohol.
Older Maes moved forwards, grabbing Roy's arm and tugging him towards the door. There was something rather unsettling about watching himself have sex, and thus wanted to leave before it happened. And so they started to run again.