"..Lyla... Lylaaa.." A wave of joy and relief rushed over the silently sitting Lyla as soon as she heard Steve's voice whisper from just above where she was hiding. As instructed, Lyla had buried herself in the ground just outside the village. The soggy soil all around her had failed to get any warmer so Lyla was ready to sleep in a nice bed. As worried as she was about Steve possibly leaving her in that village altogether, she trusted him. Even though she didn't know him that well. She knew he wouldn't be one to break his promise.
Quickly and full of excitement, Lyla pulled out her shovel and uncovered herself. Leaves that had fallen on the dirt above her in that time shuffled and fell into her hair. By the time Lyla was finished breaking herself free, Steve had found her and lowered a helping hand. Right after that --without even a single word being said-- Steve set up a small tent, handed Lyla the key, and waved Lyla away towards the village. Cold, Lyla ran through the leaves, thankful that they were moist enough to not crunch, all the way to the Inn to sleep for the night.
Lyla very quietly creaked open one of the two front doors of the Inn and peaked her head in slowly, hoping no one was on the other side. There was no one. Lyla sighed in relief and quietly stepped inside. The process of shutting the door behind her, sneaking upstairs and to the right room according to the key, and entering the room was all too stressful --as the floor was a pretty creaky wood. Once Lyla was behind the protection of the locked room door, she sighed again and turned to look at the room. The colorful, tranquil decorations were very welcoming. Lyla decided to take a quick shower to wash off the collected dirt and sweat on her. After that, she plopped onto the nearest bed and fell fast asleep. She didn't even notice the slip of paper with a little blue flower sticker decorating it that had been left on the table near the window.
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That night's sleep, though relaxing for her body, was not in the slightest inside. In her sleep, Lyla was tormented by thick smoke and fire all around her, burning up her own house, which she was back in. The fire was blazing all around, eating away the walls and causing the sciling to crumble in on itself. Lyla coughed as she searched the house, running from room to room. There was no point in saving any of her items. Those were already nothing but ash by now. Lyla needed to find (Y/n); she knew her little sister was in there somewhere. Lyla coughed fiercely as she ran from one room to another. Her sister wasn't anywhere in sight. Hoping (Y/n) had woken up before her and was already outside, Lyla ran out the front door as well.
Once outside, Lyla fell to her knees to catch her breath. Suddenly, as if called by name even though she had heard nothing except fire behind her, Lyla looked up from the ground. What she saw, horrified her. Once again was the scene of (Y/n), in the clutches of her worst enemy. Herobrine. In his free hand that was not wrapped around (Y/n) was a ball of fire. The same fire that was now destroying her home. A soul tearing smirk rose on his face when he saw the fear in Lyla's eyes; he once again had her little sister!
Even though Lyla knew it was a dream and that (Y/n) was already gone, she still struggled to her feet to save her little sister. Maybe if she saved her in the dream, somehow she would save her in real life too. The dream wasn't bending in her favor, however. When Lyla tried to run for her sister she tripped over chains that were suddenly tight around her ankles and not letting go any time soon. Lyla pulled harder and harder, but the chains only became tighter. The fire from the burning house moved closer and closer to Lyla until she was once again surrounded by the dancing flames. Peaking over the fire, Lyla watched in horror once again as her sister was pulled away; back into the Nether Portal.
It was then that Lyla woke, shouting in her sleep and coughing up imaginary smoke. Only, it wasn't imaginary. Lyla squinted outside to see bright orange fire eating up the treeline not too far off. Forest fire!.. Steve!! Lyla's eyes widened as that realization came. She jumped up and didn't even care to run through those Inn halls. Instead, she opened the window, letting the strong winter breeze fly in and blow everything near it to the floor, before sliding outside. Lyla held onto the wall tightly and climbed down carefully but speedily until she jumped the last block down onto the grass. Once her feet touched the grass, she was off towards where Steve's camp had been set up, which was where the fire was the fiercest. She could only hope that Steve had woken up before she had. Lyla wasn't even sure what time it was. The sky was still dark, though now covered up by a concoction of clouds and smoke, the moon being no longer visible.
"Steve!! Steve!!" Lyla shouted the moment the burning trees were not far from her. She dared not actually jump in there where burning branches could collapse on her at any moment. But she was also worried that Steve needed her help. After a few minutes of coughing and shouting into the forest, Lyla caught the distant shape of a human on the other side of the fire. It didn't look like it was running or freaking out though. Just chilling while being surrounded by fire. Who knows, maybe he/she really was in the fire. Lyla couldn't tell from where she was. Either way, the figure didn't seem to notice her, so Lyla took in a now painful deep breath, about to shout, until a he was tackled to the floor. Both Lyla and her attacker fell into a thick cluster of bushes where she was then held against a tree.
"Shhhh!" The attacker hushed harshly. Lyla prepared a wrist breaking karate move until she realized the one holding her still was Steve. Uncomfortable, but at least she knew he wasn't going to kill her, hopefully. Lyla wiggled free from being harshly pressed against the tree and looked at Steve fully. The guy kept himself in a low position. As if he were pretending to be a rabbit. Lyla copied his meekness and rolled onto her hands and knees, peering out to where Steve was looking. She didn't see anything at first, until suddenly some of the things she thought were large stones or short trees started moving behind the layers of fire.
"What are those things?.." Lyla asked in a hushed tone.
"They call themselves the Trudgers. They are an illete group of assassins, specialized in making it look like their targets were killed by natural disasters so no one can track it back to anyone. Only a few people even know they exist, including me. I just don't know why they would be after me so suddenly, especially since they only do this kind of stuff on proper missions." Steve explained, whispering as well. Lyla thought for a moment before an unsettling idea popped into her mind. It was pretty unlikely, but still worth sharing.
"What if.. they aren't after you?" Lyla suggested. Steve knew where she was going with it right away and thought into it.
"That lady at the front desk.. I knew she was planning something. I just had no idea it would be so extreme.. Shh! Here one comes!" Steve hushed even though he was the one talking. They both ducked lower as a human form stepped out from the fire, layered in thick metal armor that covered their entire body. The armor which coated him/her was a dark red that blended well with the fire. On their back was a large container that looked similar to a fire extinguisher. But it was the complete opposite. Out the front hose part drizzled a few dark red flames. The one holding the hose looked like they had just turned it off and began putting it away, reattaching it to their back. Once that was put away, the Trudger then began walking just outside the burning forest, and right past where Steve and Lyla were hiding. By the looks of it, it looked like they were keeping a close eye on the fire line.
"What is he doing?" Lyla whispered after they passed their hiding spot.
"Making sure the fire doesn't spread any further than they want it. The Trudgers are very consistent with making sure their natural disasters are contained so there will be minimal losses." Steve helped in explaining again. "If they see someone coming to put out the fire or something they immediately run into the flames for a quick escape."
"Wow, you know quite a bit about a group few have even heard of." Lyla pointed out, curious.
"I make sure to educate myself on anything that posts as a threat to this world. Unfortunately, simply knowing about them is useless if you want to stop them." Right after Steve finished, another Trudger walked out of the fire towards the first and they both began speaking to one another in a muffled way that didn't even sound like an existing language.
"So, what's the game plan?" Lyla asked. Steve pondered quietly for a moment.
"So far they have only burned the oak part of the forest. If we can make it through the village to the spruce side, we should be able to take a detour back on course and just continue from there." Steve proposed a plan.
"Sounds like a plan, but I was kinda hoping for a coat before we continue." Lyla sighed a little.
"Maybe you can buy a used coat from someone." Steve suggested.
"That's actually a smart idea. But, it isn't like there will be anyone around wanting to sell one." Lyla.
"Let's just get going before any more show up." Steve huffed, not having any more ideas. Steve then tugged gently on Lyla's hand as he guided her out of the ferns when neither of the Trudgers were looking in their general direction. The two booked it down the street, passing by some people on horses with water buckets in hand as well as several other confused folk. Several worried people asked Steve and Lyla what was going on as they ran by, but neither of them wanted to answer nor knew how they would answer correctly. When the two passed the clothing store they decided to see if that shipment had come in early.
"Ah, there you are. I was worried you two had been chased off by that fire over there. If only I were as spry as I used to be, then I would be out there helping put it out." The friendly store holder greeted the two. His outfit, like everyone else's that morning, was rushed and messy.
"Have those coats come in yet?" Lyla asked right away, strait to the point.
"Unfortunately not, mam. However, the load that came with the firefighters from the nearest town brought some supplies just in case anyone's houses caught on fire. That includes a few coats. Coats I am sure they won't mind letting such a nice girl as yourself use since it seems that so far the fire has been pretty nice and hasn't attacked any houses. Isn't that a miracle?" The store holder smiled. Steve chuckled awkwardly and agreed with a fake grin. It was only minutes later that Lyla finally got a coat her size, though not insanely warm like Steve's, still nice and toasty. "Sorry that you two have to go so soon. It was lovely meeting you two." The store holder said his goodbyes as he waved bye to Steve and Lyla as they walked away from the shop. Once the old man went back inside, both Lyla and Steve ran as fast as they could out of the village and into the spruce forest.
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Raethe unlocked the door to room 23 in search for anything that may help in some way. She hadn't received any good news yet that the amulet had been found, and she had a sinking suspicion that the two had left. But just in case Steve was still in there, Raethe brought with her one of the Trudgers --their specialist interrogator-- just to be safe.
The room was cold, dark, and quiet. The window was open and the smokey air still hanging about even though the fires had been put out almost an hour ago, and the sun was just starting to rise.
"Knew it.. they left." The young lady growled, her green eyes almost red as if burning with well-contained anger. The Trudger spoke to her in that odd muffled way that must have been an entirely different language. It's outfit was similar to the others, except black with a dark purple tint to the heavy armor and no giant fire breathing backpack. "No.. They must have known you were coming somehow. This is Steve we are talking about here. He isn't your typical obstacle." Raethe said. The interrogator responded with another muffled sound.
Raethe then walked towards the window for clues of any kind. Something, anything that could be helpful. The sound of her foot landing on some paper caught her attention. The young lady looked down to see a small slip of paper with a pretty blue sticker that looked like a flower on it.
"What's this?" Raethe smiled as she leaned down to pick the piece of paper up. It was actually bigger than it looked at first. It was folded a couple times. Raethe patiently unfolded the paper and began reading. As she read, her face contorted with several emotions, most being a devious smile. "Why this.. this is just precious." Raethe chuckled when she finished. "Gator." She then turned to the Trudger still by the doorway. "I have the, perfect, little idea.. And it involves everything given in this very letter." The young lady smiled wickedly at the plan quickly coming together in her head.