2-41
Posted December 29, 2012 at 09:01 pm

The heat of the flames hit Liya's face and burned holes up in her mind again--this time whatever was quashing the memories down went up like paper before she could blink them away and breathe.

Her skull roared. Yoshi's flames had been only brief, just a cloud enough to push the red-headed man back, to burn his arms raw but not enough to catch. Yoshi had let go of her arm, she realized.

She couldn't remember when Emry had let go of her shoulder as they'd scrambled from the truck that night, only that he'd been pulling her along one second and the next the ground had gone from under her--

She'd looked back, just a second, she was the only one of them who had. Past the flames, barely visible beyond the blinding light, was a figure crouched in the grass, very steadily taking aim again--

She'd fought so hard to keep the soldiers from taking her. She nearly lost it when one of them began to pluck shadows from the ground, felt a howl of fresh misery and fear rise up in her throat. But she'd gripped a sliver of metal tight in her palms and rocked back on her heels--

--she'd fought hard to keep Emry alive too, hadn't she, and to bring back some sign of life in Hawk, and it was only when Captain Marinos had said aloud that there was nothing more that she could do that she realized she'd failed. There really was nothing more for it, that was just...it.

The griffin soldier was the first the make it across the stretch of field to them. Its huge wings spread out as it plowed the red-headed man into the grass, formidable talons wrapped around his shoulders.

It would hurt. Liya had fought the soldiers until the huge red bear woman had knocked her to the ground and then, impatiently, stepped on her ribcage. Her head was suddenly full of the breathless pain, the smell of coppery blood and dry summer grass, the ache of pointless rage.

"Keep," what what roamed across Liya's thoughts, looking for a place to settle. "Keep--keep--"

Yoshi was only breathing smoke now, letting it trail up into the night sky. Captain Marinos had done the same, pacing against the fire, his smoke black to Yoshi's white.

"K-Keep--" this time, in what had been Emry's voice.

"Keep him held down," General Russett said sneeringly, slamming a brick down over Liya's thoughts.

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