I do not own anything nor do I make any money from this story. All rights apply.
[A/N Short, but I'm getting back into the writing.]
The Price of Freedom – Sky Blue Eyes
It was on the fifth day that Zack noticed the smudge of green before the mountains. It had been his first sign that the mountains were getting closer. Lucas had offered to take them to Costa Del Sol, he was heading that way to sell the palm leaves. Zack had considered but ultimately thought it too risky. Costa Del Sol was not only filled in ShinRa personal, it was filled with people and people loved to talk, especially when they thought they could get something out of it. One thing he was sure of was the Turks would have their spies. He had once heard a dark suited Turk stress informants. Whatever the title the job was the same – look, watch and report. He might have been able to blend in and move through the crowd if he had been by himself but he had Cloud with him. And as much as it pained Zack, Cloud brought attention to himself with his wild hair, and he would bring more attention in his current state. Quietly moving through crowds wasn't something they could do.
And he had put Lucas and his family in enough danger. Lucas might have got away with hiding them in Arda but it wouldn't take the Turks long to figure out who had brought them to Costa Del Sol. As it was, Zack knew that the Turks knew there was something up with Arda and the only thing that had saved them was the huge expanse of land the Turks had to cover before they could come back to Arda. Zack also had a feeling the Turks were concentrating their search further south, more specifically, round Gongaga. Zack had the notion that it would be better to cross the sea further south where there would be fewer people to notice them. It did mean heading pass Nibelheim again but Zack was going to take them through the mountains, past Gold Saucer and to the coast. He wanted to cross over somewhere south of Junon, skirt round Junon itself and enter Midgar from the east. At least, that was his plan at the moment. It tended to change and revert back or become something completely ridiculous and fanciful as he walked toward the mountains. But Midgar was always his goal. Midgar - where his girl was waiting.
There was another reason for skipping Costa Del Sol – Zack had no idea what to expect from people once they saw he was SOLDIER. At one time he had known what to expect, how people would react and how to deal with it. But after what Lucas had told him, he wasn't so sure anymore. He wasn't sure about a lot of things. His moments of hope with Cloud's recovery were followed by almost crushing despair. When they left Arda Cloud had walked along side Zack somewhat comfortably all things considered. It had given Zack much hope – maybe too much. By midday Cloud was dragging his feet and shortly after Zack had been forced to stop as Cloud no longer made any effort to walk. It was stop or drag Cloud. Zack had tried again after an hour's break but with no success. Cloud would not walk, he would not even hold himself upright and so, the day's travelling had ended. Day two had been about the same, and day three. Yesterday Zack had managed to get almost an hour of walking in the late afternoon before they had to stop for the night. Zack had felt almost giddy at the progress, maybe they were actually getting somewhere. But that was the extent of their progress for almost a week. A three day journey had taken seven. Zack brushed aside the delays once they were among the trees that lined the foot of the mountain. What did it matter how long it took them? Better to take months than be caught, Zack decided. The decision was easy amid the cool of the forest; a definite change after the heat of the barren land they had left.
The first thing Zack did after entering the forest at midday was to set a trap. He didn't care much what he caught, so long as it was edible and fresh he would be happy. And with Cloud eating properly, it was time to get something more substantial than soup into his system. They had many miles to go and Zack wanted them both fit and healthy when they met up with Aerith. Sure testament that Zack was capable of looking after himself and that her worry was groundless. Zack smiled at the idea as he set up camp for the evening. With the camp set up, Zack propped Cloud against a tree with a good view of their meagre camp and spent the rest of the afternoon chilling and watching the forest life. It was heading for autumn and the forest was alive with animals sorting out their nests for the coming winter. It was late afternoon when Zack went to collect his catch, sure he had caught something. And he had. He wasn't sure what it was but it was a mammal of some kind. Hopefully it tasted good.
Zack returned to the camp, got a fire going and set about plucking the bird. About halfway through he glanced at Cloud to check he was still alright as he was habit. But as he returned to the task at hand, his attention shot back to Cloud. The blond hadn't moved but he was looking at something. Zack wasn't sure if he was seeing things so remained still and watched. A grin slowly spread across his face as he watched Cloud's eyes follow something, he was definitely watching something. Still without moving he turned his head in the direction Cloud was looking. There were some birds flittering through the trees, attacking a bunch of overly ripe berries – the last of the season. And Cloud was watching them. Keeping a hold of his excitement, Zack scrambled over to Cloud.
"Hey, Cloud. Man, I'm so happy you're awake," grinned Zack.
But the smile slowly left his face as he watched Cloud continue to 'watch' the birds even though Zack was in his line of sight. Cloud wasn't looking at anything Zack could see. Whatever Cloud saw, it was in his mind.
"They're pretty, aren't they?" asked Zack pretending for a moment.
But even as Zack watched, the life left those sky blue eyes and Cloud slipped away from him.