Run Chapter 14

Silent Goodbye

Um just a little note to Nauro would have used your name, but my friend really wanted me to use Lyra instead. So thanks anyway for your input. I'll use the name Nauro later on in the fic. Thanks again!

Squall P.O.V

One thing I noticed when I got up was the change in temperature. It had gone from being sweltering hot to freezing cold. Meryl was awake already, swimming in the pool and racing around under the waterfall. Rinoa was curled up next a tree, her knees drawn up firmly to her chest. She looked somewhat, distraught.

" Nightmares?"

 I wheeled around to see Seifer.

"Maybe…" I whispered back.

Ignoring Seifer for the time being I walked over to Rinoa and woke her up.

" We're going to go soon"

She nodded and wiped her eyes drowsily.

After everyone was up, we got into the Council transport car. I sat in the back with Rinoa and Lance. Meryl sat in the back behind me. Seifer sat in the front with Quistis, who drove.

Seifer and I helped with the navigations and Meryl and Lance drew up new maps to take back to Crescent Winds. Rinoa however, didn't seemed to do anything except stare out the window. She had distant look to her face and her features were pale. Maybe she was sick. I decided to find out what was bothering her, but I think I had guessed it before I asked anyway.

" Rinoa…you want to tell me what's up?"

She jolted out of her trance and looked my way.

"What do you mean?"

I sighed and tried to say it the right way. I could just say ' oh its just that you look kind of unhappy, because there is no reason not to be happy'. Which is just plain wrong.

" Well I noticed you've been acting strangely…is there anything you wanted to talk about?"

She shook her head. " No I'm just…" She paused. "Scared, you know, what if our plan doesn't work?"

"It will, don't worry"

She smiled faintly and looked back out the window.

It was dark before we stopped. We were only a few hours from the station, but we wanted to wait until day to go there. So we set up camp. Rinoa and Meryl slept in the car whilst Lance and I slept outside. Seifer was taking first watch.

Rinoa P.O.V

Squall and Lance were fast asleep, as well as Meryl. I had pretended to be asleep.

I could see Seifer walking around in front of the car. When he turned around I took my chance and opened the car door. Quickly as I could I cast a sleep spell on the four unexpecting sleepers.

Closing the car door, I walked to front of the car where Seifer was.

" Hey Seifer…"

He looked worried when he saw me.

" Why aren't you asleep?"

" I was feeling restless, just thought a bit of fresh air would help…hey…what was that?"

" What?"

" Over there…in the bushes…"

I pointed over to a clump of bushes, rustling slightly in the breeze. He frowned and began walking over to them. I followed him and quickly cast a sleep spell on him.

"There's nothing over h…here…"

He fell to ground with soft thud.

I sighed with relief and walked back over to the car. Meryl had a dagger on her belt. I grabbed it and slid it into my boot. Turning to Squall I whispered to him, even though he couldn't here me.

" I'm sorry I have to do this but you have to understand. I'm the only one who can stop him…please forgive me…"

With one last look at the group; I headed off into the night.

The night air was crisp and clean but I couldn't help the feeling of foreboding that came over me. Just the thought that I was completely alone sort of gave my mind the impression something really bad was going to happen…

But when I thought about it, I realized I wasn't alone. My new friend or GF was still with me. I had thought of name, but I decided to tell her when the time came.

That time just happened to come when I was walking along on an old worn path near Esthar. I had managed to walk along as discreetly as I possibly could, but fate had other ideas. 

Back on the Hermes Ranges when the mutated Grat had attacked me, I had heard a low hissing sound. When I heard the exact same sound then, I panicked.

"Not again…"

I grabbed the dagger out from my boot and hid behind a large boulder, sticking out from under the soft red sand. The Grat came into view. Big ugly and not very tiny anymore.

The memory of seeing Logan torn apart from this thing came to my mind, and I suddenly felt very sick. It smelt the air, and looked my way. It had found me, and wanted to get me out from my hiding space, dead or alive. It came crawling, slowly, over to me. It couldn't see me, but I could see it. When it was close enough for me to see the hairy bits of skin sagging off its tentacles, I leapt out.

It screeched at me threw itself my way. I blocked its path with the dagger and let it come stumbling into it. Purple and green blood oozed down my front and onto the ground. It stopped its pursuit and let me run away from it. When I was further away from it to only hear its screams as a faint howl, I let out my breath.

Safe…or not.

The howling stopped. That was a bad sign, because I had no idea of where it was. It used its initiative and attacked me from me behind.

I dropped my dagger and came crashing to the ground. My leg was screaming with pain and I had a good mind to think it was broken. Something was poking out of my arm. I groaned when I saw a tentacle slither out of it. It had me pinned. I was a goner.

In a last desperate attempt I whispered out the chosen name for new companion.

"Lyra…"

I hadn't expected anything to actually happen. But she came. I heard a wolf howl and saw her on the highest point, above me. The white wolf jumped down from its spot and onto my attacker. When I felt the pressure lifted off me, I spun around to see Lyra in her human form standing over the Grat. It reared up and leapt forward at her. From out of nowhere, to blades appeared in her hands. She spun around and sliced into it.

The tentacles wrapped around her and tried cutting into her, to no avail. She silenced it flipping over and puncturing it in the back.

The Grat slowly fell down in a heap on the ground.

" Are you ok?" she asked. She took one look at me and shook her head.

" I'll heal you, just sit still…"

I followed her instructions, and felt the pain ease. When the pain was no more, I was cleaned up ready to go again.

" Thankyou…thankyou so much…Lyra"

She smiled and helped me to my feet.

" I like the name. Very inventive…Lyra…"

Authors Note: ok a friend of mine read this and wondered how to pronounce 'Lyra'. So if you don't know, it's pronounced like this.

Lee-Ra. Ok? Cool, now pleeaaassee, pretty please leave a review and be the good lovely readers I know you all are!