The closer they got to Nibelheim, the more uneasy Lyra felt. Her dreams were getting worse and worse and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make herself meet Kadaj in their dreamworld. The night before, Lyra had dreamt of the tall man with the silver hair again. He was tearing through books in a library, muttering about his mother and Cetra. The room was cold, and she could feel someone standing behind her, but she couldn't move, even when the man scolded her for not helping him search through the documents and books. A woman's voice slithered in and out of her ears, harsh and cold but Lyra couldn't understand what she was saying.
Drew had to dump water on her to wake her up. The boys were tense and restless and ready to break camp and hike through the North Corel Area. They had planned their route carefully to avoid North Corel and any roads that would lead to the Golden Saucer. As fun as Drew made it sound, the amusement park would only bring trouble.
"A day and a half until we get to Nibelheim," Kadaj reminded them when they had stopped to rest and eat lunch. "But only if we find a ride. A week or two if we walk around the mountain range…." He was mostly talking to himself now. "But there are too many monsters roaming the Planet and too many people looking for us…"
"How about some chocobos?" Drew suggested with a mouthful of sandwich. "There's gotta be some farms nearby. Or maybe some wild ones roaming about."
Kadaj glared at her and for a moment Lyra thought he was about to disagree with Drew just because she was Drew. But he surprised her by nodding and telling Drew to keep an eye out for any. Lyra poked down the bond and told him to be nice and he smiled at her.
"I'm always nice, Lyra."
Before Lyra could respond with her own sarcastic comment, Drew snorted. She took a long drink from her water and sat back on her hands.
"Dude, you are never nice," Drew began. "The only people I've seen you be nice to are your brothers and Lyra. Everyone else you roll your eyes at and threaten to throw them over the rail of a ship."
"I wouldn't have to threaten it if you weren't so annoying," Kadaj said. He stood and picked up his trash. He shoved it in his bag and held a hand out for Lyra when she put her stuff away in her own bag. She took it and stood. After letting go she reached for his jacket collar as quick as a snake and tugged him down to her eye level, so close their noses bumped briefly. She felt a burst of panic at his end of the bond and his face turned as red as a tomato.
"Be nice," Lyra said. She tried to sound some level of commanding. He didn't seem to hear her the other times she asked him not to be mean to Drew and it was starting to annoy her. Kadaj's cat-like eyes dilated a bit and flicked to her mouth before he nodded. She smiled sweetly and let go of his collar. Loz and Yazoo looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Drew wiggled her eyebrows at Lyra.
Lyra decided that maybe red wasn't such a scary color after all. She wondered what else she could do to make him blush like that. She thought of how red and panicked he became when she leaned on his arm at Drew's apartment and how his ears became so red that they matched his devil mask when she offered to kiss his cheek if he won the bean bag game. Maybe she would ask Drew for ideas later. It would be too awkward, she decided, to ask his brothers, and Drew wasn't easy to embarrass.
They continued their hike through the dry desert. It was nothing like the desert surrounding Midgar and Edge. That desert was empty and cold and almost barren. The desert on the Western Continent was dotted with cacti and spiky bushes and shrubs. Occasionally they would pass a dry riverbed or creek and would disturb the small lizards that lived under the rocks. There was wildlife everywhere it seemed, hiding underneath rocks and hollows of plants. Anywhere the hot sun couldn't reach. Lyra was glad for the bucket hat Drew had picked up in Junon. It was bright pink and decorated with sequins to say I love Junon in all uppercase letters, but it kept the hot sun off most of her face.
She was worried about her friends' pale skin. The boys were wearing jeans and boots and jackets over their shirts to keep the sun away, but their poor faces were left exposed to sunburn. And Drew was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt and already her neck and arms and legs were beginning to redden. Lyra's own skin was a light olive tone and freckled and tanned nicely, but she still wished they brought some sunscreen. Her skin could only tan so much before it burned.
The sun was beginning to set when they came across their first monster. It was easy to avoid as it was busy eating what was left of another monster, but they hiked until the moon rose and the stars twinkled above them before deciding to set up camp for the night. They didn't have a tent and there wasn't much for cover, so they decided to take watch two at a time. Yazoo and Loz were first, then Lyra and Kadaj.
"I could take a watch with you and Loz," Drew offered. Loz grinned and nodded his head as enthusiastically as a puppy, but Yazoo shook his own.
"That won't be necessary," Yazoo said. "It's late enough and you are the only one among us who wasn't enhanced by Shinra." Drew clutched her hands to her chest.
"Oh, you're such a sweetheart!" She winked at him, and Lyra could swear that Yazoo was blushing before he turned away from the fire to polish his gun.
Lyra set her sleeping bag up between Kadaj and Drew. Kadaj took one look at the small space between their sleeping bags and tugged hers closer, so it was flush against his. Then he mumbled goodnight and turned his back to her as he settled in for the night. Lyra looked to Drew who only smiled and smushed her fingers together and made kissing sounds again. Lyra rolled her eyes and snuggled into her bag. She laid there and laid there as the moon rose higher and higher, but sleep wasn't coming to her. Her stomach was in knots as she wondered what horrible nightmare would be thrown at her unconscious mind. She turned to Drew but Drew was asleep and had turned so her back was to Lyra as well. So Lyra lay on her back.
The sky was so big. She smiled softly as she stared at the stars and the sliver of moon that peeked behind thin clouds. She could trace the paths between the stars with her eyes to form the constellations, but she couldn't remember their names. She squirmed as a feeling of restlessness came over her. She wanted to remember everything she knew about the stars before she was given the mind block. She wanted to remember who told her about the constellation that shared her name. She knew now that the man teaching her the stars wasn't her father like she thought when she first woke up in the WRO, but he felt like it.
She sighed and turned to face Kadaj as tears pricked her eyes. She softly poked his side of the bond. He turned over after a long moment and she forgot what she was going to ask him. His cat eyes were glowing softly. She didn't know how she didn't notice the green glow earlier. In the dim light of the fire and the stars, his pupils were blown as far as they could go. He smiled his stupidly cute lopsided smile, and it wasn't helping at all.
"What is it?" He asked through the bond. Lyra blinked and tried to breathe normally.
Your eyes are glowing.
"Oh, thanks for noticing. They always glow."
Lyra giggled and snuggled a little closer to him. He was warm and comforting and as tired as she was….
I can't sleep.
A flicker of worry crept up his side of the bond and his beautiful eyes became clouded. He unzipped the side of his bag and slid an arm across her. He tugged her into his bag and the knots in her stomach loosened into something else. Kadaj's face was just inches away from hers.
"Don't worry, I'll scare away the bad dreams," he whispered, his warm breath tickling her cheeks. His eyes flicked towards his brothers and Drew, but his brothers were sitting on the other side of the fire going over the salt-stained map, and Drew was asleep. Kadaj smoothed her hair from her face, and Lyra wished he wasn't wearing his gloves for once in his life, but all thoughts disappeared from her mind as he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. His lips were as warm as the rest of him, and she wondered if he was as red as a tomato again or if he felt more confident in the dark. A warm pleasant feeling filled her chest, but she couldn't tell if it was coming from Kadaj or if it was her own emotion.
Kadaj hesitated before nuzzling her hair. Lyra could feel how nervous he was now, and she wished she could show him that she was nothing to be afraid of and she would gladly let him kiss her again, but her arms were pinned between her sleeping bag and Kadaj and the zipper to her bag was behind her. She worked up the courage to tell him, but her eyes felt like they were weighed down with sandbags, and with each stroke of Kadaj's hand on her back, she felt more and more sleepy.
Just before she fell asleep, she heard Kadaj murmur, "Good night, Star Eyes."
Her sleep was peaceful and free of nightmares that night.
When Lyra woke the next morning, she was alone in both sleeping bags. The sun was steadily rising over the horizon and the morning was blissfully cool. Lyra stretched before wiggling out of the sleeping bags and looking around the camp. Loz and Drew were still sleeping and Yazoo was poking at the fire. Kadaj was tending to his sword nearby. He smiled when he saw her. Lyra frowned and stood. Her feet were still in the sleeping bags and she tripped but she eventually made her way to him.
"Good morning-"
"Kadaj, we were supposed to take the second watch together." Lyra crossed her arms and frowned, but any attempt to look stern was ruined by her yawning. Kadaj smirked and continued to sharpen his double-bladed sword. "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"You were having a good dream," he said. "Did you know you talk in your sleep?"
Lyra's face became hot. "N-no. What did I say?"
She hoped it had nothing to do with Kadaj pulling her into his sleeping bag the night before. Kadaj was already beginning to blush a deep red but he shrugged casually as if whatever she had said was nothing.
"Hey, guys, what's for breakfast?" Drew said with a yawn behind them. Lyra turned and watched her newest friend join Yazoo by the fire. She rifled through the bag that held their food and brought out an orange.
"Nothing don't worry about it," Kadaj said softly. Lyra turned back to him.
"It wasn't anything embarrassing, right?"
Kadaj paused his sharpening and thought about it. His blush reached his ears. "I didn't think it was embarrassing."
Lyra felt a sense of relief wash over her, but she still wanted to know what she said. Whatever it was, it was enough to make Kadaj blush. Lyra decided to ask him about it later and went back to the dying fire. Drew handed her an orange and glanced at Kadaj.
"Shit, the day barely started and your already flustering the poor guy," Drew said with a mischievous smirk. Lyra snatched the orange away and walked to their sleeping bags. She pulled hers out of Kadaj's and Drew laughed. "What's your sleeping bag doing in there, Lyra?"
Lyra's face burned and Kadaj took a deep breath before sheathing his sword and walking to Loz. He gave his older brother a light kick.
"Wake up, we're leaving soon."
He glared at Drew and didn't take the orange he offered her. He pulled another orange from inside the bag instead.
They broke camp after Loz woke and followed the map that he and Yazoo had gone over the night before. They had found a small village at the base of the mountain range. All they had to do was follow an old overgrown road in the desert. They slowed their pace just a little bit from the day before, considering Lyra's short legs and Loz getting distracted by every moving lizard and bug.
Kadaj avoided Lyra like she had the plague. He led the way with the map in his gloved right hand and his sword in his left. Yazoo walked next to him, glancing behind him every once and a while to keep an eye on Lyra and Drew, but Lyra had a sneaking suspicion that he was watching Drew more than herself. Loz walked a little way behind them.
Drew elbowed Lyra. "Did you guys have a fight or something?"
Lyra stumbled over her own feet. "No. We didn't," she blurted. "Why are you asking?"
Drew rolled her dark amber eyes and adjusted her high ponytail. "Oh, nothing. Kadaj just is acting weird." After a few moments of awkward silence while Lyra tried to sense any problems on his end of the bond, Drew tried again. "Does it have to do with your sleeping bag inside of his? What, did he get cold last night?"
Lyra rubbed her arms and tried to ignore the blush creeping across her face. Drew continued talking, either not noticing Lyra's sudden nervousness or choosing not to.
"I mean, I won't judge. He's kind of cute in an annoying way. You don't have to worry, though. I won't try anything. The dude clearly hates my guts. Just, I don't know, get a room if you guys decided to do anything beyond the sappy looks and all that mushy stuff."
Lyra smacked Drew on her legs with her duffle bag and Drew laughed.
"What? I said I'm not judging!"
Lyra looked ahead to Yazoo and Kadaj. They were several yards in front of them on the old overgrown road and Loz was still lagging behind them. She looked up at Drew and shook her head.
"I know," she said. "It's just…. I don't know. It makes me feel anxious and weird when you mention…. That stuff."
Drew narrowed her eyes. "That stuff?"
"Yeah. The sappy looks and- and the mushy stuff." Lyra picked at a loose sequin of her bucket hat, trying to keep her hands busy. She felt her ice beginning to form at her feet, feeding into her anxiety as they walked. "I don't know. It's silly."
Drew was silent, which didn't help Lyra's anxiousness at all. She pushed Kadaj's soft poke from his end of the bond, wondering if she was okay. She looked up to see Drew giving her a look between thoughtful and mischievous.
"Have you ever kissed anyone before?" Drew asked. Lyra smacked her with her duffle bag again. Drew squealed and bounced out of reach just before it hit her.
"No!" Lyra sputtered and swung her bag again. "I don't know! I don't remember anything and even if I did-"
"I get it! I get it!" Drew laughed. "You didn't get much experience with that mushy stuff in Shinra's labs."
Yazoo suddenly appeared and took the duffle bag away from Lyra. "Is everything okay back here?"
Drew nodded her head and put her arm around Lyra's shoulder. She had to lean down a bit, but she squeezed Lyra against her side.
"Oh yeah. We're just talking about girl stuff." She gave Yazoo a bright smile. "Just mushy gushy stuff about guys and why her sleeping bag was inside of Kadaj's last night."
Lyra stomped on Drew's foot, and she howled. Yazoo rose a slender silver eyebrow.
"Really?" He drawled. "Inside his sleeping bag?"
"It's none of your business!" Lyra shouted. She pulled her bucket hat over her face. "The whole world doesn't need to know!"
Yazoo made a noise that sounded half like a laugh before he handed the duffle bag to Drew. "I'll pretend I didn't hear anything."
Lyra sighed in relief and adjusted her hat so it sat properly on her head.
"I'll still ask Kadaj about it," Yazoo said with a smile. Lyra sputtered and kicked at him but he moved faster than she could blink and he was walking with Kadaj again. Lyra glowered at Drew but she just rolled her eyes with a smirk and continued walking. Lyra followed her. Kadaj yelled at Yazoo and a shock of panic shot to her from his end of the bond.
"Well great," Lyra groaned. "He's gonna avoid me forever now." She covered her face with her hands and moped behind Drew. Drew slowed down and snickered.
"No, he's not," Drew assured her. "Don't hit me for saying this, but anyone can see that the guy is nuts about you."
Lyra considered that for a moment, trying to think through the panic from Kadaj's side of the bond and her own anxiety. She wished for about the millionth time that she had memories. Any memories about Kadaj would be very helpful right about now. She knew they were friends before her mind block. If they were anything more than friends, Kadaj hadn't said anything and his brothers likely had no idea if they were.
"It's alright, you know. To like someone." Drew nudged Lyra. "If you need to talk about Kadaj or boys or anything, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."
They arrived at the small village in the late afternoon. The people were friendlier than anyone they came across when leaving the ship. They couldn't spare any vehicles when Kadaj and Yazoo asked, but they did have a few chocobos to spare. Loz was overjoyed and handed over all his gil. Kadaj almost blew a gasket before Yazoo convinced the chocobos' owner to throw in an old beat-up tent along with the birds. The chocobo rancher even suggested a shortcut through the mountains.
"I'm naming him Sir Brutus!" Loz hugged his chocobo. The chocobo warked in protest but didn't fight him when he climbed into the saddle.
"Drew, there's no way in hell I'm riding a chocobo named Sir Pumpkin," Yazoo complained.
"Well, you haven't offered any better names," Drew laughed. "Now scoot over so I can sit!"
The big yellow chocobo Lyra and Kadaj were sharing was not at all happy with Kadaj trying to ride him. Lyra picked some greens from the stables and held them out for the big bird. She shushed the bird and stroked its neck feathers. She gestured for Kadaj to get on quick, only to jump out of the way when the stubborn bird warked loudly and bucked Kadaj off. Kadaj turned to mist momentarily before materializing just outside the chocobo's stable. Lyra couldn't help but laugh at his bewildered and annoyed face.
"Really?"
Lyra apologized and handed the uneaten greens over the wooden gate to him. The bird gave her no fight when she climbed on and she urged it to leave the stable. She held out a hand to Kadaj and helped him up.
"Stupid bird," he muttered. "I suggest Sir Fried Chocobo."
Lyra giggled. "Your being mean." She ruffled the feathers standing all over the chocobo's head. "How about Sir Cloud?"
"What?"
"Well, his hair looks like a chocobo, and this chocobo has some really wild feathers.
Kadaj sighed. "I guess. Cloud is also a pain in the ass."
Lyra urged the chocobo onwards to follow Sir Brutus and Sir Pumpkin. Kadaj squirmed and almost fell off as they made their way up the narrow and overgrown mountain road. He swore under his breath.
"What are you doing?"
Kadaj was clearly uncomfortable, and she didn't need the bond to tell her that. She looked behind her and he was holding onto the saddle. She looked up at the branches of the trees above them and sighed as dramatically as she could manage, then reached back for his hands.
"I'm not going to bite you," she said.
"That's a blatant lie," he muttered back.
Yazoo and Drew were chatting ahead of them and Loz was humming on Sir Brutus.
"What are you so nervous about?" She asked innocently. Kadaj stuttered.
"I'm not!"
Liar, liar, pants on fire, she sent down the bond. She smiled when he jabbed her side.
"I thought you hate liars," she continued to tease. She could practically hear Kadaj roll his eyes.
"Congratulations, Lyra," he said. "You've managed to remember something mundane."
She giggled again and lightly elbowed him in the ribs.
The sun in the mountains wasn't as hot and baking as it was in the desert. The foothills surrounding the village were studded with short trees and thorny shrubbery, but the further the group traveled into the mountains, the taller the trees became. They were surrounded by pine and birch trees.
Between the chocobo's rocking gait and the warm sun filtering through the trees, Lyra became sleepy. She snuggled back into Kadaj and closed her eyes as she began to doze off. She listened to the wind and forest life around her, and underneath that was whispering. At first, it was comforting and pleasant, until the whispers began begging for help. They suddenly became sharp and loud and screeched about danger.
Kadaj jerked Sir Cloud to a halt and Lyra jolted awake. Yazoo and Loz had stopped their chocobos ahead of them. The chocobos were restless and warbling.
"Whatever the Planet was telling you, tell me now," Kadaj whispered in Lyra's ear. She shivered and frowned. "I heard something in the forest."
Lyra opened her mouth, but her warning was caught in her throat as a shrill shriek pierced the air. It wasn't human, whatever was making that noise, and it spooked the chocobos.
"We should keep moving-" Kadaj started, but he was cut off when a large humanoid creature tore through the trees and bushes and crashed into the wall of rock on the other side of the path. The chocobos shrieked in response and Sir Brutus shook Loz off and ran up the trail, nearly knocking Drew and Yazoo off Sir Pumpkin.
Yazoo jumped off Sir Pumpkin with his guns in his hands. He calmly handed the reigns to Drew who looked like she was about to piss her shorts. Kadaj dismounted Sir Cloud and unsheathed his double-bladed sword.
"Lyra, stay with Drew," he told her as the makonoid heaved and scrambled to its feet. Lyra scoffed and pulled the flimsy prototype weapon from her pants pocket as she joined Kadaj. Loz charged up Dual Hound and the makonoid launched itself at him, only for Yazoo to shoot and hit its claws. It roared and slashed at Loz as if Yazoo's bullet hadn't bothered it.
Kadaj pushed Lyra towards Drew as Drew took the chocobos remaining up the path. "Go!"
"I'm not going anywhere," Lyra shouted back. Before she could activate the saber, another makonoid came from the forests and smacked into Lyra and Kadaj. Lyra's face pressed into the pine needles and the dirt and she couldn't breathe until Loz knocked the makonoid off of them. Kadaj pulled Lyra up, only for them to duck as Loz was launched across the path and into the wall of rock. Lyra ran after Loz as Kadaj attacked the makonoid. Yazoo shot at the other one as it tried to go after the chocobos and Drew.
Lyra knelt by Loz. He was dazed. She jumped up as the makonoid being shot at turned and swiped at her. She dodged its giant claws and swung the blade of her saber. Despite the bullets Yazoo was shooting into its back and the slashes Lyra made into its arms and belly, the makonoid moved as if it was unharmed. Lyra dodged its claws and moved down the path, doing her best to lure it away from Loz. Panic bubbled in her stomach as the smell of smoke reached her nose. She didn't want to start a forest fire and closed the fist that was beginning to spark.
This small distraction allowed the makonoid's next swipe to pass through her side. She yelped as its claws ripped through her shirt, but instead of pain, she felt anger.
She heard Kadaj yell for her as she ducked under another swipe, and she somersaulted behind it. The makonoid shrieked as she swiped at its back. Kadaj was at her side in a wall of mist as he tried to pull her behind him. She shook off his hands as he materialized.
"What are you doing?!"
Kadaj wrapped an arm around her stomach as the makonoid launched itself at them. Its arm smacked into Kadaj's head as they moved out of the way of the angry monster. Lyra called her ice as they hit the ground and the makonoid shrieked as it met it. She squeaked as Kadaj's sword fell in front of her, almost cutting her nose off. She pulled on her end of the bond but Kadaj didn't answer and he felt heavy and limp on her. She grabbed his sword and made her ice form a protective shell around them.
She eased Kadaj on the ground underneath them. He was unconscious and the right side of his head was beginning to purple. He was going to have an awful bruise.
"K?" She shook him and tried not to panic. Yazoo was still shooting the makonoids outside the ice den Lyra had created, but she needed to make sure Kadaj was okay before she joined him. She knew he was still alive. Something in her told her his side of the bond would be a big empty void if he was, but the thought of it made her nauseous. She took a deep breath and patted Kadaj's chest. "Stay here. Try not to move."
She wriggled her way out of her ice den and sealed it over Kadaj. Yazoo ran to her faster than she could blink.
"Can you summon more ice?"
"Yes, of course."
Yazoo reloaded his gun and readied a piece of blue Materia. Lyra recognized it as Ice Materia.
"Its claws disintegrated when it hit your ice," Yazoo said. He was as calm as ever. Lyra didn't know how he managed it, but she nodded and placed her fingers on the double-blades and summoned a thin sheet of ice and frost. She spun the sword by the hilt and smiled. It was a little top-heavy but was much better than the flimsy saber she had taken from the WRO. Kadaj's sword in her hands made her feel unstoppable and powerful, even though it was made for someone left-handed. She was right-handed but she could still manage.
Yazoo activated the Ice Materia and shot at one of the makonoids. It was almost comical how easy it fell. Its dying shrieks turned to gurgles as Yazoo finished it off. Lyra dodged the other makonoid and slashed at its side. She managed to nick it and it hissed. She smiled and almost laughed with delight as it hissed and stumbled backwards. She could fight it and she knew how to. She may not remember learning how to fight with a sword, but her muscles and reflexes did.
She dodged again and feinted going for its head. As it dodged her she slashed off its arm. She spun away from the spray of mako-blue blood and attacked again, almost dancing around it and jumping from foot to foot. She sliced into its legs and as it swiped at her a final time with its claws, she lopped its head off with Kadaj's ice-encrusted sword. It fell to its knees and hit the ground and the fight was suddenly over.
Lyra was shaking as adrenaline coursed through her and everything around her looked and sounded sharper. She covered her ears as Drew came running back with a hammer and a multitool in her hands. Her footsteps were so loud.
"Can I help?" Drew asked Yazoo as he helped Loz stand. He nodded and gestured to the ice den and oh my gods I left him in the ice den!
Lyra approached the ice as Drew smashed her hammer down, but she couldn't even make it chip. Lyra placed a shaking hand on it and the whole thing shattered. She closed her eyes against the sudden wave of dizziness and nausea. Drew looped her tools into her belt loops and knelt down to help Kadaj.
Lyra winced as her head began to throb with a blinding icy pain. Drew steadied her with a hand on her shoulder before she followed Yazoo with Kadaj leaning on her shoulder.
"Whoa girly, I'm not carrying you too," Drew warned her. "Kadaj is heavy enough."
They started up the trail and Lyra stumbled along, flinching at the sounds in her head. She looked around expecting to see someone sword fighting nearby, but no one else was on the hidden mountain path but them. Another voice muttered about their mother just over her shoulder, but no one was there either.
They made their way down a hill to where Drew had tied their chocobos to a pine tree. Lyra looked around, trying to locate the man muttering about his mother and the swords clashing against each other. Someone screamed as Drew touched her shoulder. Lyra couldn't tell if it was her or someone in her head. Drew tried to take the sword from Lyra's hands, but she couldn't remember how the sword got there. She frowned and tugged her hands back.
"I need the sword Lyra," the Wutain girl said. Lyra stared at her for a moment, trying to remember how she knew her. Where were Sephiroth and Zack?
"I think I need a nap. My head hurts," Lyra heard herself say.
The tall Wutain girl nodded. "Okay. That's okay. I just need the sword first."
Lyra shook her head and looked at the strange double-bladed sword in her hands. This wasn't her sword. Her sword had a single double-edged blade and a snarling hellcat on its pommel.
"I'll fall over."
"That's a good thing," the Wutain girl said. "You said you need a nap anyway."
Lyra's head throbbed. "When did I say that?"
The girl frowned, but Lyra didn't understand why she was frowning. She wanted to ask what was wrong but the world was spinning and the singing swords were getting louder and louder in her head. A tall boy looking like Sephiroth took the sword from her hand and she fell.
OKey dokey, I have had a HECTIC week and most of it was without power lol we had a giant storm rip through South Dakota and since I live in a tiny town, we weren't a priority for getting power back until we were three days without it. We survived, though my little bro was convinced that he wouldn't without the internet lol and it allowed me to work on this monster of a chapter. I'm working on the next few chapters, as always, and can't wait for the chaos I have planned!
Love ya guys! Leave a kudos and a comment and tell me what you think of the story so far!