Daggers and Flowers

Chapter 15- Drew

Lyra dreamt that she was hiking up a cold and snowy mountain. She didn't know why she was hiking, or even where she was going. All she knew was that it was cold and there was an awful pit in her stomach. Something bad was about to happen, but she wouldn't be able to stop it. She was following the man with long silver hair and a very long sword. He turned around every so often to make sure she was there, but he hardly said anything. And if he did say anything, he reminded her to stay close and not to leave his sight.

The others with them were silent and freezing. Lyra knew they were SOLDIERs, but she didn't know their names. Or maybe she did, but she couldn't recall them.

"Not long now," the silver-haired man finally said. "Keeping up?"

Lyra found herself nodding and, despite the awful feeling of dread, she grinned, skipping closer as she followed him. She felt younger, maybe around 10 or 11. Some childish part of her understood that this man was her caretaker of some sort and that she shouldn't be there. If something bad happened to her, he would get in trouble. She was important to the Shinra Science Department, and she was in enough trouble before she snuck away.

Just as she was about to grab his hand, the scenery began to change. She froze as ice filled her stomach. The man kept walking, but the air was hot and dry. Smoke filled her eyes as flames soared high above her head. Lyra coughed but the smoke was too thick for her to breathe. She tried to call out for the man to stop but she couldn't.

Then she woke up.

Kadaj was shaking her awake. She sat up and a blanket fell off her. Before she could ask what was going on and where the blanket came from, Kadaj shushed her.

"Keep quiet. The WRO found us."

Lyra cocked her head to the side and listened. The walls in the building were thin but she couldn't hear anything. She shook her head. "I don't hear anything."

"They're downstairs, questioning tenants," Yazoo said, not bothering to keep his voice down. Not that he needed to anyway. His voice was soft yet razor-sharp, and he didn't make any sound as he walked. Loz, on the other hand, was tiptoeing about, his face screwed up as if keeping quiet was torture for him.

Lyra grabbed for her bag but it wasn't where she had left it.

"My bag," she whispered. "Where is it?"

Kadaj smirked and threw a different, less burned bag at her. She caught it and opened it. Her things were still there, including the prototype weapon. She smiled as she shoved the blanket inside and stood.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Kadaj slung his own bag and his sword on his shoulders and walked across the living room. He opened the window. The sun wasn't even rising yet, just a smudge of purple on the horizon. The morning air was cool but still warmer than the freezing apartment.

"Come on. We're jumping."

Lyra blinked. "What?"

Yazoo huffed as he shoved passed her. "Well, we have to get down to the truck somehow. We can't use the stairs. The WRO are using them." He scowled at Kadaj. "Apparently, someone didn't dispose of your cell phone properly."

Kadaj rolled his eyes. "No, I did. They were probably tracking Lyra the second she left. Not entirely my fault."

Lyra shook her head. "It'll be mine. It was my phone. I shouldn't have brought it with, that was stupid."

Lyra peered out the window. There was no screen, which she felt was a safety hazard, and they were about six floors up. She paled as she drew back. "I don't think that jumping out is a good idea."