And the Stars Answered

Lost in the Dream

It wasn't enough to pursue her in the real world; they had to follow her into her dreams, too. They would never stop hunting her—all because she could lucid dream.

Lyra kept her head down and stuck to the back alleys. The city was practically dead. Everyone had gathered in buildings in the downtown district, except for armed military units at each exit out of the city. If she could get out, everything would be fine.

She was so focused on her escape plan that she almost walked right into a roadblock.

Ducking behind a concrete barrier on the sidewalk, she silently cursed to herself. The few vehicles that were on the road—most standard government-issued black SUVs—were being thoroughly checked. She snuck a peek and watched as a man scanned the driver's face with some device. A moment passed, and then it flashed green. He waved the car through, and the process started again.

Lyra wasn't going to get through that. She instinctively knew that they would have her listed in whatever system they had as wanted. If she got caught, she was as good as dead.

That was the problem with knowing in dreams. Actions always had consequences, and even the simplest thoughts triggered larger responses.

"Did you hear something?" one of the guards asked.

No, you didn't hear anything, Lyra thought furiously. Go back to your post. Go back to your post. Don't investigate.

The universe must have only heard the word "investigate," though. Another sentry nodded and raised his gun. The two carefully picked their way across the street toward Lyra's location.

Thankfully, she wasn't powerless—and this was the exact reason they were hunting her.

She closed her eyes and concentrated.

I am not myself, Lyra thought. I am not myself. I look different. I am different. I am not myself.

And she changed.

Her hair, naturally red, became a light brown. In the way of dream knowing, she knew her eyes were now blue. It wasn't much of a difference, but she hoped it was enough and that it would hold. Improvising on the spot, she wished a crumpled wanted poster into existence.

Grabbing it, she took a deep breath and stood up.

"Don't shoot!"

The world descended into chaos.

"On your knees!"

"Hands in the air!"

"Where are you going?"

"Scan her!"

Lyra fell to her knees. The closest sentry pulled out his device and scanned her face. It flashed yellow.

"She's not in the system," he said in a horrified tone.

"Shoot her," another man replied gruffly. The way he stood and how the other men reacted told Lyra that he was in charge.

"Stop!" Lyra said frantically. It was just a dream, but she didn't want to find out what would happen if she died. "My name is Cassidy, and I live beyond the city."

"And what are you doing here, sneaking around?" the commander demanded.

"I have information for the President," Lyra said breathlessly. "I have information about the girl you're all searching for: Lyra."

The men looked at each other, and the commander nodded.

"She'll want to hear this herself," he said.

The guards roughly pulled Lyra to her feet, a few still trained their guns on her. At least she wasn't dead—yet.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

.oOo.

A/N: It's a bit longer than the established 500 words I have for this collection, but I really like this too much to not post it. What do you all think? Vote or leave a review :) I'm always happy to get feedback!