Chapter Four
"Who are you really?"
Lyra's voice finally cut through the deafening silence. The wind roared in response, ruffling her hair as she held Ryan closer, glaring at Jude. Ryan's fingers gripped the edge of her sleeve. He didn't say anything, but she could feel how tight his hold was. Jude didn't flinch. He only seemed mildly annoyed. That bothered her even more than if he had. People who didn't flinch were used to being accused.
"Alright, how about you tell me who you are, huh? How did you know that book? How can you read Archive Script? You know, if you're Archivers, we could always turn you in."
Lyra bit her tongue. She wanted to argue, or pounce at him, but he was right. They weren't exactly free from suspicion either.
"Jude, stop threatening them. And you—" she snapped her face toward Lyra, "Jude has been really helpful the past few months. He may be a bit weird, but he's smart. I don't know what gave you the impression that you could just waltz in here and point fingers, but stop. Everyone has a past. That's why I didn't dig into yours."
This invited another long stretch of silence. The warmth in the air had cooled down like a cup of coffee left to sit. Maybe it could feel the tension, reflecting the weight of the things left unsaid. Despite the lack of speech, Jude knew what the others had to say. The stares from the two girls were different—one burning with suspicion, her gaze as sharp as a blade to his neck; the other warm and stupidly trusting, despite her reckless behavior and appearance. He looked away before either look could stick, but he still felt their eyes on him. "Let them stare," he thought. "They don't know anything, anyway."
A soft, high-pitched buzz hovered in the distance. Ryan stiffened for a moment, looking up at the sky. Nothing. Just a few clouds passing by, casting shadows on the cracked concrete. Exchanging glances with the others, he looked for confirmation in their eyes—none.
"Did you guys hear that?"
"Hear what?" asked Nyx. Ryan looked at Jude but he just shook his head and shrugged.
"It's probably the wind. Don't worry." Lyra stroked his head. She grabbed her backpack, taking out two pieces of toast. She handed one over to Ryan, but as she was about to take a bite of the other one, her eyes flickered over at Nyx and Jude. They were silently staring at the food, a filter of sorrow, or longing, glazing over their eyes. A pang of guilt hit Lyra. Resources were tight, but leaving them out felt wrong. She split the toast and handed them each a piece. Split between four people… three days. Three days' worth of strictly rationed food.
But it was the right thing to do.
They thanked her quietly.
They all ate in silence.
After a few minutes, Lyra dusted herself off and walked over to Jude, hand outstretched.
"As much as I am suspicious of you, I admit we have to work together. Let's get to this Rose Library, yeah?"
Jude cracked a small smirk, taking her hand in his with a loud clap, shaking it firmly.
"Sure. Don't be a drag, kid."
Nyx seemed overjoyed at this display, and immediately jumped up, snatching the map.
"Alright fellows, off we go!" She exclaimed. Ryan tapped on her shoulder.
"…You're holding it upside down."
"How do you know? Aren't you ten?"
"Thirteen. There's a compass, N for north, that's the top." He pointed to the rounded drawing of a compass on the worn map. Nyx chuckled and turned it around.
"Well, you look ten. And of course, I knew that. What kind of school did you go to, we never got maps."
That question made Lyra realise something crucial. Nyx was ordinary. Maybe in the commotion with Jude she had forgotten that most people didn't know some of the basic things they'd been taught. After all, they were homeschooled.
Ryan glanced over at Lyra for confirmation, and she nodded.
"We were homeschooled. Our parents taught us."
"Oh. That must've been fun, my parents didn't…" the smile on her lips faded subtly, she looked off into the distance for a moment, "my parents didn't know that much."
"Where are your parents now?" Ryan blurted out before Lyra could intervene, causing her to bury her face in her hands. "Dammit, this kid is not people-trained," she muttered to herself, sighing.
Nyx kept looking off, but she didn't answer.
That's when Jude spoke up.
"Alright, people, from the information I could gather from the map. This is the way to go!" He pulled out a sheet of white paper with strange markings and patterns drawn on it.
"Where'd you get that from?" Lyra questioned.
"Oh they had a stack of white paper in the bunker. I grabbed a few." He shrugged.
"Uncle, you're really bad at drawing," said Ryan as he looked up at Jude's plan.
"Un…? Uncle!? I'm only twenty one!" Jude's face flushed slightly, clearly agitated. This was amusing to the rest, who tried their best to hold it in, but ended up in a laughing fit. Nyx put her hand around his shoulders, wiping her teary eyes with the other one.
"Ha… come on, gramps, it's time for you to go to the retirement home!" she wheezed.
"You are so incredibly childish…" he sighed, placing his hand above his furrowed brows and dragging it across his forehead and hair in frustration.
"Thanks for proving our point," said Lyra with a smug smile. "In all seriousness though, why are we going to that place in particular? The Rose Library."
"Because why not?" Nyx blurted out, "it's not like we've got anything to do anyway. We can't go back to any of those bunkers we found… so we just explore."
"Also, it says it's an abandonedlibrary. It might have some valuable information, unlike the modern libraries." Jude added.
"Like what?"
"Not sure, kid. We'll know when we get there. Anyway…"
"Lyra."
"Hm?"
"Call me Lyra." After a few beats she added; "I never really told you my name."
"Sure. Anyway, Lyra, everyone else, listen…" Jude went on to explain his plan to the rest of the group, who listened eagerly, especially Ryan. Jude noticed the sparkle in his eyes and subconsciously smiled, despite how tense he'd been feeling. In the back of his head, a little voice reminded him of when he was like that. The boy reminded him of himself from a simpler time, when his clothing size was smaller than his age, and growing taller was the biggest of his worries. 'Would he be proud of me?' he wondered. He could feel the itch of tears behind his eyes, but held it back and continued describing his detailed plan.
Once everyone was caught up, they set foot. Once they left the cramped alleyway they were back at the ruins of the old town, birds chirping in the distance.
"Seems it's not completely abandoned." Nyx stared at the direction of the chirping while walking. Lyra smiled as the rest nodded along. Over the horizon, a crane was coming into view. Half of it was covered in coppery rust and the other half was bleak with chipped paint and soot covering it.
"I wonder what happened to the people who lived here," Lyra mumbled under her breath, but everyone could hear her through the thick silence and sound of their steps.
"Evacuated, probably." Jude commented. "Maybe there was a rat infestation." Everyone ignored the second part.
"Seeing no people in a place is so eerie, but it's probably for the best. It's kind of sad now that I think about it, this was someone's home someday. Now it's just… forgotten." She continued. "Someone could've taken their first steps in that building, or played with their friends in that field… or someone's child could've been born in that hospital…"
"We can't dwell on it now. Such is life. Nothing lasts forever, you should know that."
"You're rig-"
"Hospital!?" Nyx interrupted them. "If it's still up it's a goldmine for supplies! How could you just gloss over that!?"
"Oh my… you're right! And if there's a super mar-"
"Nope. I checked it yesterday actually, when Jude was asleep. Completely empty."
Lyra raised her eyebrow at that, Nyx had been way more prepared than she thought. Jude seemed a little surprised too. Ryan just stared at her with his wide sparkling eyes.
"Your survival instincts are on point, Nyx, I'll give you that." Jude complimented her as they made their way to the abandoned hospital.
"Duh. How else could I have survived years on my own? Nyx of The Night built a name for herself from scratch."
With that, they entered the hospital, scavenging for anything useful and stuffing it into their bags. By the time they had checked the entire hospital, they'd found a lot of expired medicine, which Jude refused to take, as well as stocked up on bandages and other useful medical supplies Jude assured them he knew how to use. Nobody questioned anything. The sun had already gone more than halfway of its course by then, making it the late afternoon.
They hurried through the rest of the abandoned town, and were out of it an hour later with their quick pace, checking their place on the map every few minutes due to Lyra's anxiety over them getting lost. "We're homeless anyway, it doesn't matter if we're lost. Get used to it." Is what Nyx would reply with every time.
Just as they stepped out of the shadows cast by the town's edge a loud thud rang out from beyond the trees.
Everyone froze. But only for a moment.
Lyra's hand tightened around the pipe she'd kept with her. Nyx pulled out the crowbar, while Jude pulled out a knife.
A low growl sounded out between the trees, and they all tensed up. Stepping out of the shadows was… a girl? A short figure covered with a ripped black hooded cloak and a clearly worn dark skirt with knee high boots stood in front of them. She pulled her hood off, revealing a face filled with faded scars with the darkest, most haunting, eyes Lyra had ever seen, some of her half-neck length black hair slipping onto her face. She stopped and glared right at them. Beside her, stood a large brown dog almost half her height, growling at the group.
"Listen, we don't want to pick a fight, alright?" Nyx called out, in a loud but gentle tone, raising her hands slightly but keeping the crowbar in her hand, to make sure the girl wouldn't misunderstand.
The girl didn't say a word. Her eyes flicked between them, lingering a little longer on Ryan. The dog stopped growling but didn't let down its guard, staying rooted at her side like a shadow.
Lyra stepped forward half a step. "We're just passing through. No trouble."
The girl didn't move. Neither did the dog. It stood firm beside her, a wall of muscle and fur, hackles raised and teeth bared. The girl's fingers curled in a silent command — and the growling stopped.
"You're the ones stomping around like you own the place," the girl said, her voice colder than stone buried under ice. "Don't act like I'm the threat."
"We didn't know anyone lived out here," Jude said carefully, lowering his knife but not putting it away. "Just trying to make it to the Rose Library."
She narrowed her eyes. "No one goes there."
"We do," Lyra said, stepping forward before she could stop herself.
A beat of silence. Then the dog huffed and looked at the girl. She gave him a subtle nod, then turned back to them.
"K. Then maybe you're more stupid than you look," she muttered, gaze flicking between them one by one. "But if you're heading that way… you'll need directions. Or a warning."
Nyx's grip loosened slightly on the crowbar. "So you're offering help?"
"Not yet," the girl said flatly.
Ryan peeked from between the group. "Is the dog gonna eat us?"
For the first time, a twitch of something… amusement? passed over the girl's face.
"Kyro doesn't eat strangers." She looked at Ryan. "Unless I tell him to."
Then, without a word, she turned her back on them and began to walk away — slowly, deliberately. The dog followed, glancing back once, then letting its tail sway in the air.
"Okay…" Jude muttered. "That was not creepy at all."
"Do we follow her?" Ryan whispered.
"I… I think she wants us to," Lyra said, unsure where that certainty came from.
The girl didn't speak. She just kept walking. Somehow, they all knew: if they wanted answers, they'd have to follow.