Lotte's lungs felt like they were burning at the bottom of a fire. A thin amount of oxygen was being pushed into her lungs by someone else. Her chest burned and she couldn't breathe. Whoever was saving her life wasn't visible. Ash or something was built up in her eyes.
"Come on love, wake up."
Love.
Fitz.
Lotte felt her lungs push out the ash as she let out a large cough. She still couldn't breathe properly but it was enough to stop the burning.
"Lotte! Are you ok?"
Fitz's voice sounded raspy. He was struggling to breathe but still kept pushing air into Lotte's lungs.
"I can't see."
"Open your eyes."
"That doesn't make a—"
Before Lotte could finish yelling she felt a wave of cold water hit her face. Her vision faded from pitch black to just patches of black. It was enough to be able to see Fitz's face covered in soot. He had a large gash wound above his right eyebrow that bled down the side of his head. His blond hair was gray and black that had ash pouring out of it. Lotte began to push herself up with her arms but they quickly gave out. Fitz caught her with his arm, wrapping it around her back and using his upper arm to support her head. Leaving Lotte's lower half to lay in the rebel of the house.
"What happened?" Lotte asked as she desperately tried to rub her eyes clean.
"BlackJack…Bomb," Fitz's brain was disoriented, leaving Fitz to try and figure out the situation himself. He didn't know what happened. When he got downstairs BlackJack's army had already invaded and everyone was defending the house or their lives. Fitz had gone looking for BlackJack, knowing that he was waiting for him somewhere. But he didn't get very far before everything went black. He woke up underneath a pile of wooden planks and rebelled. Everyone else was gone. Except for Lotte. Fitz didn't know if this was some demented plan of BlackJack's or if he simply just couldn't find them.
"They're gone," Fitz said before Lotte had the chance to ask. "I think BlackJack took them."
Lotte looked around as if she could prove Fitz wrong. The only thing around them was ash. The few pieces of wood left were almost burnt out. Lotte's dress had been torn and shredded but was still wearable. The blast of the bomb had pushed Lotte out the window, far enough away that she wasn't burned or injured. Aside from some major bruising and possibly sprained limbs, she was ok.
"We can go after them," Lotte said, pulling herself up from Fitz's arms. "If we hurry."
"BlackJack's long gone by now. There's only one person who knows where they would have gone. And they only come out at night."
The sun was due to set in an hour. In the meantime, the two hobbled over to the lake where Lotte and Fitz had gone swimming. They dunked their faces into the water, washing out the ash. The cold water sent a thrill into their spines. Both of them gasped as they pulled their faces out of the water. Lotte sat back against a rock, pushing her soaked hair away from her face. A second later, Fitz had done the same. Lotte stared across the lake, waiting for Fitz to say the next course of action.
Fitz allowed his hair to drip viciously down his shirt.
"I need to teach you how to fly."
Lotte raised her eyebrow as she turned her head to look at Fitz who was still gasping from the cold water. Fitz stood up with newfound adrenaline and stuck out his hand in front of Lotte. Lotte's hesitation grew as she placed her hand in his and allowed him to pull her up. Lotte stayed still as Fitz positioned his hands around her hips.
"Close your eyes. Listen to your heartbeat, allow the modicum to lift you."
Lotte didn't have time to fail at this. Each second she spent struggling was a second the boys were stuck with BlackJack.
Lotte's heart began to beat faster. She felt something shift in her body as if she had surrendered a part of her to an unknown force. When she opened her eyes her feet were no longer on the ground. Fitz was reaching up past his head, his hands still on her hips.
"I don't like this," said Lotte. "I feel weird."
Fitz floated up to Lotte's level, "It's the modicum. The serum Trigger gave you is wearing off."
"Fitz I can't fight alongside you if I have to worry about killing you. Or Trigger or anyone else."
Lotte began to sink back down to the ground. Her feet hovered just above the rock before Fitz grabbed her hands, causing her to stop.
"I can't do this without you," Fitz lowered back down. "I've taught you how to fight, to fly. Lotte, you're the strongest person here. I will fight to protect you until I die."
Lotte took a deep breath and swallowed, allowing herself to fly back up, "let's not waste any more time."