It was dark now. Keira pulled her tear-stained face out of her crumpled pillow and rolled over to check the time on her bedside clock. Late evening. She had been sulking in her bedroom for hours now, quietly fuming ever since the sudden argument with her father.
She clenched her teeth as she remembered it all again. She just could not believe that after finding a special and exciting new place in the forest all of her own, her father was forbidding her from going back there. The indignation of it all had made her want to scream and break things, and she almost had done back downstairs when she'd kicked out at the wall. Sure, her father was sometimes very over-protective, especially so throughout the war, severely restricting her freedom, but this was beyond all counts, and her bristling emotions made it all the more painful and impossible to accept. This was so unfair! How could he do this to her? And how would she tell Azyma and Tess that there would be no more trips back to the forest?
But then she unclenched her jaw and her sour look faded away into a tired sigh. The tension throughout her body was released. Now that several hours had passed, her anger was finally starting to burn itself out; only a few dying embers remained, and trying to keep them alive was getting tiresome and pointless. She could not stay angry with her father any longer... but she still lacked the bravery to go downstairs and face him, and neither had he come up to disturb her. This uncomfortable, needless state of limbo had to be resolved, but how?
With a conflicted groan, she peeled herself off from the bed sheets, and in the dim streetlight that filtered in through her window, she could see the messy imprint she had left in them. Her clothes still bore the dirt, grass and dust from her journey into the forest. With another sigh, she understood that she could not put off a shower any longer; she had to get up and have a wash before she could even think of doing anything else.
Opening her bedroom door as quietly as possible, she peeped out into the hallway. The coast was clear, there was no sign of her father, and the house was still. Silently, she crept along the landing and made it into the bathroom undetected, locking the door behind her.
Within two minutes she was standing naked beneath a warm cascade in the shower cubicle, letting it finally extinguish the last vestiges of her anger, and washing them away down the drain. She felt better at once, unburdened, and she leant her back against the wall and closed her eyes as the water flowed over her face. This shower felt like a purification ritual to her, and one that was sorely necessary, for she felt somehow tarnished for quarrelling with her father as she had done, more so than any physical dirt she could accumulate; this was on the inside. With a clearer mind no longer tainted by her emotions, she could now understand the sense in his words, and felt regretful for how she had reacted towards him. He was right, as he usually was. After all, she hadn't been exactly clear about where she'd gone in the note she'd left behind, and she had been gone all night, although admittedly that was not intentional. He would worry about that of course, and, she realised, he only acted the way he did because he loved her. She loved him too, in spite of his over-protectiveness, and she had to show him that.
By the time she turned off the water and stepped out of the cubicle, refreshed and rejuvenated, she felt ready to make things right, and knew what she must do. After drying off and getting dressed again, she would go downstairs, seek him out and apologise, to repair the bitter feelings that still remained between them.
She wrapped herself in her towel, crept back across the landing and stealthily returned to the safety of her bedroom. But as she opened her wardrobe to find some fresh clothes, she became aware of an unusual scent in the air, drifting in through her open window from the streets outside. It smelled like something burning, cinders on the wind. Curiously, she climbed onto her bed and looked outside, but what she saw made her freeze up and gasp. A huge plume of smoke, blacker than the night sky, was twisting high above the buildings at the southern end of the city. Fire!
All feelings of serenity were instantly shattered, and for a few seconds Keira stared in uncomprehending shock. Then she found her senses, and leaping into action, she thrust an arm into her wardrobe and tore out the first set of clothes she lay hands on. Hastily jumping into some summer shorts, she bolted out of the room as soon as they were on, while simultaneously pulling a vest over her soaking hair.
"Daddy! The city's on fire!" she shouted while steaming headlong down the stairs. But in her frantic haste, she missed a step and tumbled painfully down the last few to the bottom.
Samos was disturbed by the loud thumping noise in the next room, but by the time he came out to investigate, the hallway was empty and the front door was wide open. He hurried over and looked out, and just caught sight of Keira launching off down the street on the nearest zoomer, half-dressed, barefooted, and wet hair flailing.
"KEIRA!" he shouted, unable to comprehend what on earth she was doing now. But then he too caught the scent of the smoke, and noticed the enormous black tower pouring into the sky, lit up by the city lights.
"Oh no, not here too!" he half-whispered.
Keira sped through the streets as fast as she could, her teeth gritted in both pain and determination, and her eyes watering against the air that blasted her face. She had injured herself in the fall down the stairs; her ribs ached, her ankle throbbed, and she could feel a few bruises already forming. But she could not slow down. She didn't know what was making her do it, but there was only one thing in her mind, driving her forwards: she had to get to the source of that fire.
She pelted it recklessly, out of the brightly lit New Haven District, through the twisting maze of the slums, and the Industrial zone which passed in a dark red blur. Whenever the smoke tower reappeared between the buildings, she angled herself towards it, drawing on her knowledge of the city streets to find the fastest way there. Finally, she knew she was on the right path. As she drew closer to the port, she started to notice people on the streets beneath her running the other way in a panic, and she blasted over their heads. When at last the way seemed clear, she turned the last corner and emerged on the waterfront, and she gasped with horror at the sight that awaited her.
On the other side of the water, Daxter's pub was blazing, wreathed in choking flames, and for a moment Keira couldn't move, just hovering in mid-air as her vehicle slid to an uncontrolled halt.
"No!" she mouthed silently, but then her mind reactivated itself with a sudden lurch. Tess! Azyma! She had to help them!
She found her courage and gunned the last distance straight towards the burning building, bringing the zoomer in as close as she dared. When she dismounted, her injured ankle almost gave out under her when it met the concrete, and it stung badly with every step she took as she limped towards the terrible scene.
The sight was overwhelming. The road was a minefield of debris, broken glass and discarded belongings, and the heat could be felt even from here. Amidst it all stood a lone, tiny figure, a silhouette in the deadly light. It was Tess, helplessly staring up at the flames that consumed her home and business, transfixed by the fire's ferocious awe. The giant animatronic of Daxter was wrapped in fire and dripping melted metal onto the concrete, its slowly deforming face grinning grotesquely as it sank into the flames, and the doorway beneath it was obscured by the smoke pouring out of it like an inverted black waterfall.
Keira found her way to Tess's side, but she did not even turn her head. "Tess? How did this happen?" she asked in shock.
Tess was drawn out of her trance by the familiar yet distant voice. She looked up at Keira, and the vacant, soulless stare in her tearful eyes showed an unbearable sadness. She said nothing.
"Where's Azyma?" Keira asked more urgently, feeling an even harsher stab of unknowing grief.
Tess's mouth fell open and quivered but there was no sound. She was too distraught to even reply, and Keira feared the worst.
But then there was a commotion in the doorway, and Keira looked. A coughing, bleeding figure came stumbling through the dense wall of smoke, face shielded with one arm, and the other extended outwards in front, grasping for safety. Now outside, the figure took a huge inhalation and revealed its blackened face. It was Azyma!
With that one deep breath, she seemed to stand in stillness amid the chaos. Then her white eyes went completely blank, she wobbled weakly on the spot, and then fell face forwards, as if in slow motion, straight into the broken glass that scattered the road.
Keira felt a twist in her heart so painful that it stole all the air from her, so that her scream of horror was sucked inwards. But then without a thought for herself she immediately raced to the rescue. She skipped from one foot to the other, trying not to step in any of the debris, but it became impossible. Suddenly, she cried out as the sensitive sole of her bare foot met with a sharp piece of glass, and she nearly toppled over with the arresting pain as it embedded itself in her skin. But she did not stop, and limped along as fast as she could into the blistering heat that threatened to force her back.
She reached where the form of Azyma lay motionless, dangerously close to the pub doorway and its spreading smoke, and tried to lift her under the arms. It was difficult, but then with an empowering cry, she mustered all of her strength, heaved her up, and let her body fall across her shoulders.
She was just in time. Behind her, the fire roared with a ferocious new power and now the heat was almost blinding her, but her own voice screamed inside her head, almost as loud as the fire itself, that she had to get out of here. Back bent with the weight of her burden, it was no easy task to carry Azyma back to safety, least of all with two injured feet. But Keira struggled on, biting through the pain and forcing herself to continue, just one step at a time.
At last, she made it back to Tess just before another inferno erupted through the roof of the building, which came down in a thunderous explosion. The flames burst upwards, taller and brighter, and an even stronger wave of heat surged over the three figures as the black smoke belched from the doorway like a tide over the street.
"We've got to move further away!" groaned Keira, dragging Azyma along behind her.
Tess semi-lucidly complied and staggered after her as if in a daze, without saying a word.
With her head bowed, her hair in her eyes and her whole body aching, Keira found it hard to see exactly where she was going. All she knew was to get as far away from the fire as possible. But then the air around her became cooler, and the ground around her feet brightened. She stopped here and carefully lowered Azyma down onto the concrete. They were right under a street light, about a hundred yards away from the blaze.
Keira fell to her knees beside Azyma, gritted her teeth and screamed again as she finally pulled the biting glass shard out of her foot and tossed it away. Through bleary, pain-streaked eyes she looked back to see if Tess was still with her. To her relief, she was, following her bloody footprints. Now she had sat down and was looking back towards the burning building, oblivious to everything else around her.
Keira looked over Azyma and almost cried at the sight of her. There were horrible black burns on her arms and face, there were smoking, scorched holes in her clothes, and she was covered in fierce cuts from her fall onto the glass. Blood mixed with the ash on her skin, and parts of her hair were singed. She looked like a corpse. Keira tried to awaken her, but Azyma would not stir at all. No breath came from between her blistered lips.
"Azyma! Wake up!" she shouted tearfully, shaking her by the shoulders. But there was still no response, and Keira felt her emotions slipping out of control.
Then a shadow fell over them. Keira looked up and saw her father standing above her, blocking out the streetlight. A grave look was on his face at the sight of the sorry group; Azyma lying motionless, Tess sitting unresponsive, and Keira a frantic, tearful wreck.
"Daddy!" Keira pleaded, "You've got to help her!"
Acting immediately, Samos leaned in closer and hovered a hand over Azyma's face. Ethereal green energy flowed from his palm and embraced her. It soothed the worst of the burns on her skin and seeped into her wounds, which slowly closed up and healed. Then as Keira watched without blinking, he slowly swept his hand down the rest of Azyma's body, head to foot, and then back again. As he passed over her face again, Azyma suddenly took a huge gasp, and then coughed so violently that her whole body convulsed, and Keira feared that she would strike her head against the concrete. But then it subsided, and Azyma breathed again rapidly, struggling to regain air as the green eco dissipated the smoke trapped in her lungs.
Hope flashed through Keira at this sign of life, but faded away again just as quickly when Azyma did not regain consciousness.
"She will live," said Samos reassuringly, "But now we must get her away from here, Keira."
Keira was vaguely aware of the Freedom soldiers thumping past her towards the fire as she looked down into Azyma's suffering face, wishing now more than ever for the truth in her father's words.
Very soon, the portside area was swarming with Freedom League soldiers as they battled to control the blaze. Others were on hand to give medical assistance to those who needed it, but apart from a few citizens who had suffered minor burns, Azyma was the only one seriously injured, and she had already been taken care of by Samos. He healed Keira's injuries as well, and looked over Tess, who was physically unharmed but now seemed to be trapped in a state of emotional detachment. She had an unfocussed gaze in her eyes, turning her head from time to time in reaction to voices, but showing little else in the way of response, not speaking even when she was spoken to. Not even a precautionary dose of green eco improved her condition.
She and Azyma were helped into a secure transport cruiser so they could be taken to safety, back to the house, far away from the fire. Keira climbed in alongside them, as did Samos, travelling with them to monitor their conditions and to ensure they all arrived home safely. For most of the journey, he and Keira remained in fraught silence, unable to meet each other's eyes. The stinging feelings leftover from their unresolved argument earlier in the day still lingered between them. Keira wanted to say something, but she couldn't bring herself to speak anymore.
When they arrived at the house, Azyma was placed on the longest couch in the front room, and provided with plenty of comfort. Despite what she had just been through, she was intensely shivering in her sleep, so Keira coated her with an extra warm blanket, tucking it tight around her shoulders so she was wrapped up snugly. Tess curled up on a cushion on the other couch, wrapping her tail around herself protectively. She looked so helpless and lost.
Keira was concerned for them both and begged her father for help and guidance.
"I have done all I can for them, Keira," he said tensely. "Time is our only treatment now."
This did not exactly ease Keira's worry, but she suppressed it and listened, knowing that it was true. She simply nodded, unable to find any other words.
After making sure that everyone was going to be alright, Samos left them under the care of two trusted and medically-trained soldiers, and travelled back to the scene of the fire. With the casualties taken care of, there was now an investigation to manage. They had to find out what had caused this fire, and there still may be clues left at the scene which needed to be recovered before they were lost.
Keira stood where she was in the silent room, feeling very alone. She walked over and looked down on where Azyma lay, so helpless and vulnerable in her stricken state, her face stained, her hair dirty, and her eyes weighed down. It was so painful and sad to see her in this way, so fragile. Then she got down on one knee, leaned in closer, and gently lay a hand on her shoulder. Azyma seemed to react to the touch, her eyes half-opening for just one second, before they drifted shut again, closing down on the unknowable blankness within. Keira didn't know what to make of this sign, but it gave her hope that her friend was still in there somewhere, maybe conscious and aware of what was happening around her.
"It's OK, Azyma," Keira whispered. "It's OK. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can, I'm right here for you. You're safe now. Just hang in there."
Azyma remained still and made no further sign of response. But still, she was breathing.
Next Keira turned her attention to Tess, who did not move from her place either. Her eyes were open, sometimes blinking, but they were pale and unfocussed. Keira gently tried to rouse her to speech again, but to no avail. Nothing could bring her out of her petrified trance of shock, closed off to the world. It was a strange and uncomfortable position to be in, sharing this room with her two unspeaking friends, but she felt unable to leave their sides, and remained dutifully watching over them through the night.
At a loss for what else she could do, she resigned herself to her seat there on the couch and sat in silence, physically and emotionally exhausted, hoping that Azyma or Tess would wake soon. Waiting.
The night was long and lonely. Occasionally, one of the soldiers wandered in to check if all was still well, but apart from that, Keira was on her own, and she continued to drift away with the hours into deep and subconscious thought. Always, her mind returned to the same questions. How had this happened? Just what could have caused such a destructive fire? Though the city had suffered many throughout the course of the war, The Naughty Ottsel had never fallen, but Keira knew that this was no enemy attack. She would have heard the noise of battle outside as the city retaliated. No, this was something else. But what? And why now? She hoped her father and the Freedom League investigators would find the answers. Until then, all she could do was speculate, stuck in this bleak room with her two friends who had witnessed it but could not speak, waiting for them to come round.
She looked down at her healed foot, which now did not bear so much as a scar thanks to her father, but the memory of the pain still lingered, coupled with the impending dread of the confrontation with him when he would return. She could imagine it. He would no doubt scold her again for running off to the scene of the fire as she had done, but this time she accepted that she deserved whatever words he dealt her; she understood now that she had acted foolishly, putting herself in unnecessary danger, even if her actions ended up saving lives. She sighed guiltily. It was terrible that this calamity had coincided with their falling out, just when they needed each other the most.
Azyma lay beneath her blanket, sometimes tossing and turning with a faint whimper, before falling still and silent again. Keira looked up every time this happened, hoping to see Azyma's eyes re-open, but they never did. Tess remained unresponsive, and as the night wore on, she only grew dimmer. Even her usually vivid orange fur seemed much greyer, as if the life had all been sucked out of her. It was not until almost dawn when the soft, regular sounds of her breathing revealed that she had finally fallen into a protective sleep.
Keira's eyes were starting to feel heavy as well, and her brain felt saturated by her jumbled thoughts and emotions. She had not slept a wink throughout the night, and could barely fight it anymore. She took one last look at both of her friends, and then finally, she settled herself down into the cushioning warmth of the couch, and closed her eyes, uncaring whether sleep took her or not.
But not a few minutes later, Azyma's eyes fluttered gently open. Through a bleary mind she looked out upon a strange and confusing world, and she lay there for a minute gazing up at the unfamiliar ceiling. She remembered nothing and for a moment did not register anything she saw. Her head was throbbing, her eyes were stinging, and she could move only slowly, as if her limbs were made of stiff concrete. Things settled partially into place, and she swallowed for the first time. Her mouth was very dry and she felt very thirsty, and that one thought, and that one goal, became the impetus. Slowly, she moved her arms and untucked herself, unknowing and unaware of her two friends who were in the room with her. She got up off her couch, and crept across the room so slowly and so silently that Keira, who was still awake, did not even hear her.
Into the kitchen she wandered subconsciously, not recognising where she was. But she identified the sink and the taps, and that was all that mattered. Water. She needed water. But by the time she stood before it her legs were wobbling, and she leant heavily on the rim to support herself. What was happening to her? She tried and piece together her fragmented memories, which seemed to move like clay. All she could remember was a dark heat followed by a dim greenness. What was that?
But then she saw her hands, dirty with black ash, her shirt sleeves tattered and singed, draped around her wrists like loose bandages. Her hair hung in long trails either side of her face, pungent with the fiery smell of smoke, and there was a taste of it in her lungs, heavy like a trapped, tethered storm cloud. It all came back to her. Sudden terror caught her in its dark hand as her memories and emotions erupted all at once, and it was too much for her to take. Tears flooded her eyes, her body trembled, and she began to whimper loudly.
The sounds brought Keira out of her drowsiness. She sat straight up in alarm when she noticed the empty couch opposite her, Azyma's unfolded blanket tangled upon the cushions, and she followed the terrible sounds into the kitchen, where she found Azyma on the floor in a crumpled emotional torrent. She at once rushed over to help her friend, holding her in a protective cradle.
"Azyma!" she said. "Azyma, can you hear me? It's me, Keira."
But Azyma seemed not to hear, and remained fitful and continued to moan, trembling and squirming in Keira's arms with her eyes tightly shut. Keira was struggling to hold her still, and couldn't understand. She could feel her emotions coming apart too.
"Azyma?"
Not a moment later, the two guards who had remained dutifully outside the front door came bursting in to see what was happening as well. Upon finding the scene, they knelt down beside Keira, and tried to offer whatever help they could. But nothing would calm poor Azyma.
"What's wrong with her?" Keira stuttered, tears threatening to leak out of her eyes.
"Looks like she's in severe trauma," said one of the guards seriously. "I've seen things just like this before, right after battles. The mind just kind of stops working like it should do."
"How can we help her?" asked Keira desperately, holding Azyma close.
"Well, I'm no expert, but to be honest, when she's like this, there isn't much we can do," said the same guard sympathetically. "These things tend to work themselves out on their own. Until then, all I can advise is just keep her indoors where it's quiet and try to make sure she doesn't hurt herself. Stay close to her. Give her what support you can." He looked back to his comrade. "Call for help."
The other guard now stood up and spoke to his radio, passing on a message to Samos. Keira, not knowing if she was even doing right, did not let go of Azyma and whispered soothingly into her ear. "Azyma, you'll be fine. You're safe now. I'm here for you, Azyma. Please try and stay calm. I've got you." Then she softly kissed her on the forehead.
Azyma's eyes remained tightly shut, but her trembling finally seemed to gradually lessen. One of her hands found Keira's, and she tightly gripped on. Keira could feel a sureness in her grasp, one that told her that somewhere, deep inside, Azyma was still there, fighting against her torment and consciously reaching out for comfort.
It was the first step on the long and difficult road to recovery.