The Nightscape

Tired To The Bone

Lyra woke up when she heard the scratch of a key in the door lock, scrabbling to her feet and holding her fists in front of her as though she could fight off whoever was coming in. Her cellmate never even stirred. Luckily, it was only Ettie who came in, padding along in the dark with nothing but a lighter to see her way by. She peered into the gloom, jumping when Lyra called out to her. 

"Ettie! Are you alright?" She called out, hurrying to the bars while Ettie extinguished her lighter and shushed her. 

"Quiet! I can't be here, you have to be quiet." She hissed, grabbing a jangling ring of keys from a hook next to the door and coming close to the bars. 

"Are you alright?" Lyra asked in a hushed whisper. She wanted to ask what had happened, what her reunion with her father was like, why she seemed like she didn't hate him, and most importantly, why Guy had never told her, but those questions would wait. For now, she waited impatiently as Ettie thumbed through the keys, trying to unlock her cage with each key in turn. 

"I'm fine. You look fine too." She mumbled, finally getting one that worked. She was wearing thick latex gloves, and had a loose scarf around her neck that she pulled up to cover her face and bright red hair while Lyra opened the door and stepped out into the hallway. 

"I am. Come on, let's go. Do you know a way out of the compound?" Lyra asked as Ettie laid the keys on the floor, pulling out a hastily constructed sling sort of device and leaving it inside, as though she was trying to paint the picture of Lyra making it and grabbing the keys for herself for some reason. 

"Yeah. Go out of this building and to the left, stick in the shadows of the building until you reach the fence then follow it along to the right for three posts, after which I've cut a hole. Lift it up and crawl through, and then run and don't stop running until the sun starts to come up. Then you'll be far enough away to flicker. Go on, go!" She hissed, pulling her outside and giving her a light shove in the direction she described. Lyra didn't go, looking at her in shock. It was the most she had ever heard the girl speak, and above that, a question swam to the front of her mind. 

"Why are you talking like you aren't coming with me?" She asked in a harsh whisper. Ettie didn't meet her eyes. 

"Cos I'm not. Look, I've waited a bloody long time to see my dad again, and I never wanted to leave in the first place. Just go, alright? And tell Guy- tell him that I don't hate him." She whispered, before the red head pushed her away more firmly, turning and walking away without a backwards glance so Lyra wouldn't see the conflict and tears in her eyes. 

Confused and alone, Lyra stood there for a moment more. She couldn't decide between making good on her escape or going after Ettie. But if she chose the latter, what would she do? Trying to force her to come along, even if she could, would cause enough of a scene that a getaway wouldn't be possible, and she didn't know enough about the situation to talk her out of it. 

After a few wasted seconds, Lyra made a decision filled with shame and turned away, following Ettie's instructions to get through the compound to the hole in the fence. It wasn't like it had been worn away, or there was a rut beneath it, the compound was maintained too well for that. No, it looked like she had taken bolt cutters to it, the edges curled upwards. Wincing at the sound it made, Lyra peeled it up, ducking her head out underneath it and painstakingly beginning to wriggle through. A piece of wire caught her arm and scratched it, and she bit her tongue to stop herself from cursing. 

She was almost through when the twisted wire caught at the hem of her jeans. Lyra tried to drag herself through, but she couldn't. Frustrated, she tried to crawl back to unhook herself, but it had twisted in such a way that it was just holding her where she was. She reached back, clawing at the fabric of her clothes until she managed to get a tenuous grip on the wire, though her shoulder ached and she was struggling to twist her arm in such a way.