Lyra sprinted along the pathway away from the village, she was about
a good 100 yards away from the village. She knew Quoralian couldn't catch
up with her unless she had a dragonfly, and she didn't. While running as
fast as she could when Lyra got far enough away she began to scream and
yell. It made her feel alive and herself, but a bit crazy. She then
screamed without thinking,
"I AM ME! I CHOOSE MY LIFE!" But at that point she tripped on a
rock nearby, hurling herself to the ground, and she began to half scream
and half cry. Curled up into a ball, she wept and cursed herself, hated
herself.
After a good 15 minutes, she spread out on the warm dirt and felt it
beneath her alive body. Staring at the sky, she counted the birds that
flew by and relaxed.
Lyra got up and saw a girl standing near her. Only there was something
strange about this girl, she looked the exact same as Lyra. Lyra got a bad
feeling, and Pantalaimon jumped up and hissed. The girls' daemon did the
same, and her daemon looked just like Pantalaimon.
"Who are you?" Lyra asked boldly, and looked at the girl straight in the
eye as she said this.
"The question really to be asked is, who are you?" The girl looked back
boldly.
"Why is that your concern?"
"You asked the same question."
"Then answer mine first."
"You should."
"Fine. I am Lyra Silvertongue."
"Are you sure?"
"What do you mean?"
"Just by what I said, are you sure you are Lyra?"
"Well, of course! Who else would be Lyra?"
"I am not quite sure Lyra exists anymore." Lyra didn't understand
when the girl said this, and asked with great suspicion.
"I am Lyra! I am right in front of you! See me?" She waved her
hand in front of the girls face, she didn't move.
"I see you, but you are not Lyra. You are not Eve, she is dead,
resurrect her."
But before Lyra could ask what the girl meant, she vanished into vapors of
mist and blew away.
Lyra squeezed Pantalaimon, but something felt different. She looked at
Pantalaimon and he began to break away into mist as the girl and her daemon
had.
"Pantalaimon!" She screamed in horror. Pantalaimon blew away with
the wind, and Lyra ran after the wind. But she stopped after 10 feet and
sat on the ground, alone.
The wind barely disturbed Quoralians' long brown hair. She stood on the rock and looked after where Lyra had left. Quoralian pulled out her communicator. "Lady Eleanore, bring in the zeppelins."
The wind barely disturbed Quoralians' long brown hair. She stood on the rock and looked after where Lyra had left. Quoralian pulled out her communicator. "Lady Eleanore, bring in the zeppelins."
