(Author's Note: Well, since fanfiction.net is supposedly taking down the lists section (I am eternally bitter), I figure that this story is only thing worth crap on my account, thus, here's the twelfth chapter! Oh, and by the way, I lied, and I apologize. There's no Lyra in this chapter. It was just too soon to introduce her; I'm sorry! *ducks rotten fruit again* Oh well, she'll probably be in the next chapter. Or the next. *cough* Anyway, read on! Enjoy!)
CHAPTER TWELVE--Will on His Own
Will Parry sat bolt upright at the bloodcurdling, pain-filled scream that echoed suddenly through his brain.
It was a dream, he told himself adamantly. Just a dream.
But he was shaking, and his skin was pale and clammy with the cold sweat of undeniable fright. The dream…it had been so lifelike…someone had been calling out for help…amidst an eerie, ominous scene of darkness and swirling mist…and blood…
Will! Will, help me!
Will jolted visibly, clutching his head. Those cries! He heard them, but he didn't…it was as if they were inside his head, somehow…
His beautiful black cat dæmon Kirjava uncurled from her place at his side and whispered, "What is it, Will? What's going on?" Will opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment…
Will!
Still pale and shaking, he leapt out of his bed. Kirjava followed; this time, she too had heard the voice. Will stared shakily into darkness.
"Lyra?"
Was it possible? Analogous fear and hope rose in his heart, and for a moment he questioned his sanity. Was it possible that he missed her so much that she was talking to him in his own mind? Will knew that he had always been rather down-to-earth…but nonetheless, he was hearing voices in his head!
Never one to panic, Will decided that in order to understand what was going on, he must listen carefully, pay attention, and let the voice say what it needed to say.
Will. Please help me. I need your help. Please come!
For a brief moment, into Will's mind leapt a familiar face. Familiar, but just barely…that girl that he had just met yesterday, with the tawny cat dæmon! It was her!
"Iris!"
His sudden, ragged cry rent through the still blackness of his bedroom. A second later, it responded again.
"Please help me, Will. I need your help. Find me. I won't make it…"
Realization hit him like a thunderbolt. Of course. The Forthsight! Fear for his newfound friend's safety welled in him, and his natural loyal and determined attitude soon had him groping around his room for a jacket, some shoes, and a flashlight. As soon as he found the articles, he cried out, "I'm coming, Iris, don't worry!"
In his sudden outbursts, he had forgotten to be quiet, and the next thing he knew, Dr. Mary Malone burst in through his bedroom door. She was fully outfitted in a blue robe and fluffy slippers. Visible only to Will and herself, her small bird dæmon perched sleepily on her shoulder.
Over the last year that Will and his mother had moved in with her, Mary had grown quite close to the young boy. After all, they had been through things that no one else could understand. She was the only other human from his world with a dæmon. She had invited them to move in with her to help Will take care of his still slightly mentally disturbed mother, and had been there ever since.
"Will? What's going on? Are you alright?"
Will was momentarily startled, and replied hastily, "Yes, yes, I'm fine, I'm--"
"No, you're not," the former physicist replied in a rather authoritative tone of voice. "Why do you have shoes on? And a coat? And a flashlight? Will, what's going on?"
Will needed to get out, he needed to help Iris, and he knew that the only way to get past Mary was to tell her the truth. "It's a long story, but you have to trust me. Is mum asleep?"
Mary, too stunned and curious to speak, merely nodded.
"Okay then. Get dressed and come with me. There's something very important and dire going on, and you must trust my judgment. I'll explain on the way."
*
The rain had started again, only lightly drizzling but still enough to keep Iris awake during the wee hours of the morning. Still enshrouded in darkness, she had long since used up the last of her energy to send out a message to the only one who could help her now, the boy that her and Tobias had met the very night before…one of the only two people in this world with a dæmon.
Then she had drifted into a strange half-delirious frame of mind, the only tangible emotions in her mind the pain and fear for Tobias, who she had last seen bloody and unconscious, his beautiful fox dæmon fading and flickering…
Immediately she jolted back into conscious at this thought, noticing at once that it had begun to rain again. She couldn't move at all: as both of her kneecaps were broken, she couldn't hope to stand, and had no energy left anyway from sending out a desperate message to Will. Lying as she was in the dirt near the back of a rather small, dark alley, no one passed through the rain that night near her, so no one saw her at all. She was utterly alone, in terrible pain, and drifting in and out of consciousness. Her caracal dæmon was curled up next to her, providing her with all the warmth that he possibly could, even though his soft, tawny coat was soaked through and he too was very weak, as his human's pain was carried over into him, as well.
After what seemed like an eternity, Iris's head snapped up as a beam of foggy light danced into the alley, followed by two urgent voices. One was unmistakably Will's: strong and determined. The other was a woman's voice…
"Iris! Oh, God, what happened? Are you alright?"
Will came into view, a dark, square-shouldered shadow against the alley wall. An older woman followed him closely. He rushed over to Iris immediately, and she gasped out painfully…"It was Breyman. He came and took Tobias away. He shot him…in the head…lots of blood….I think he might be dead…"
Will's face turned pale, and he said, "Where did he take him?"
Iris's eyes brimmed with tears. "I don't know," she said shakily. Will replied, "What happened to you? Can you stand?"
Iris didn't even try. "No, I can't. It hurts so bad….he broke both my kneecaps. I can't stand, Will; help me."
There was immeasurable fear and pain in her shaky voice. The woman came over to her and knelt down next to her. Iris immediately saw that she was the other one with the dæmon: a small bird was perched on her shoulder. She briefly inspected the bruises on Iris's legs and said, "Yes, this looks pretty serious. I'm no medical doctor, but I say that we need to get you to a hospital, and fast."
Iris could feel herself getting even weaker. "Will," she said softly, "is this your mother?"
Will smiled wryly. "No, this is Mary Malone, an old friend of mine."
Mary knelt and picked Iris up. She was surprisingly light. "Less of the 'old', Will." She said, a slight bit of humor in her voice. In Iris's last fleeting moments of consciousness before she drifted off from the pain and fatigue, she decided that she and Mary would definitely get along.
On the way there, following Iris's directions, Will had explained everything to Mary as quickly and concisely as he could. Now, in a much more serious, grave tone, Mary said, "Will, if everything you say is true, and I don't doubt you, then you need to go after your friend Tobias before it's too late."
Will bit his lip and nodded. Mary placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, saying, "I trust you. You've been through enough already for me to trust you, Will, just promise me you'll be careful…" Will nodded, setting his jaw. "I promise. Tell mum that I'm staying at a friend's house, okay?"
Mary returned the nod, and Will immediately took off down the dark, misty alley in the direction that Tobias had been taken in. Will could easily tell the direction, anyway…the rain hadn't been strong enough to fully wash away the tell-tale trail of blood.
Will was a loner. He had been born a loner, and would die one, and he knew it. He had a task to complete, and it was his job to see to it that it was done. Not only was a friend in mortal danger, but that friend was his key to Lyra, as well. It was a task that he would not let himself fail, under any circumstances.
Oxford was an entirely different place at night: dark, quiet and mysterious. When the trail of blood was too thin to be seen any longer, or had been washed away by the rain, Will ran by his instincts, which had never failed him before. Inexplicably, they led him straight to the very place where he had first met Iris and Tobias. As he reached the intersection, he skidded to a halt and stared open-mouthed at what he saw.
The window that the two Forthsighted had appeared from was open, and a sparkling star-studded sky shone in from the other side.
This was impossible! There had been no evidence of a window when Will had first met them at that very spot. Tobias had long since closed it up. So how on earth was it possibly open now?! Will didn't dwell on it; there was no time. He gathered up his courage and leapt through the window.
---
(Author's Note: *In deep, announcer-like voice:* What shall Will find on the other side of the window? How did Breyman figure out how to travel between the worlds? What important parts will Mary and Iris play? When will Lyra really come into the story? And above all, is Tobias dead? Find out next time in the upcoming installment of The Only Ones Left!)
