The hopes and dreams of a birdman

[Ohm]

Without hesitation, Kyle followed Lily into the compound. The insects were gone, the path was clear and Lily could not be deterred once her mind was set. It was something he admired about her when it wasn't infuriating to deal with. His right hand was tightly wound after his bag strap, and his left held his map and pen. The two of them were keeping a brisk pace inside the building, only stopping once they would see someone they would know, and felt the heartache as Kyle noted down what he knew about them.

Since Lily had been out of it, it had been up to Kyle to keep her up on who was dead or not. It was a heartbreaking, difficult task, but with shaking hands and eyes that tried to blink back small tears that threatened to blot the edges of the paper he was using; he jotted down the names that he could remember for her benefit. As much as it hurt to do, he had to do it for her.

Their little trip inside the compound let them both see what remained of several of their classmates. Some they knew from the announcements that he could remember, and others that either had been too recent or he had missed. The worst was seeing those whose passing he had only noted prior to hearing about it to seeing the aftermath for himself. It only made it clear how lost some of them were or might have always been.

Neither of them had much in terms of defense and it was starting to become clear that people had lost it and people were dying. People he had known for years and seen in the halls were now husks left in the desert to rot and be picked apart by vultures. It all left a bad taste in his mouth, a taste that he could remember from the first day here when Moose attacked him, for whatever reason. He had seen first-hand what this place could do to people, both the living and the dead.

Their trek ended when they came upon a room that was a complete mess with a variety of debris strewn about the place. There was a hole in the wall that they could see through, there wasn't much to see, though. Any step they took in this room would shift garbage around, and the crinkling of glass at the soles of their shoes echoed through the room. It told a story and it was not a pretty one, most likely the place where the shockwave had occurred.

It had brought Lily out of her self-imposed exile, but it probably cost someone else in the process.

At this time, Kyle could see her pull rebar out from the rubble, and hold it in her hands. Just, looking at it. He was not sure how to feel about this, it meant that they had something to defend themselves with, but at the same time, he did not like the feeling when she handed some other she had picked up over to him and the weight of it in his hands hit him. It was scary to think about.

If this was in other hands, would they use it to kill, or to defend themselves? Kyle hated the fact that he even questioned that, but all the bodies lived rent-free in his mind and these eyes of his allowed him to see just how damaged many of them were. Far beyond what Lily or others could see.

Whatever is the case, he knew certainly what his idea for it was, and Lily's. The only comfort he had was when he held it tight as they reconvened in another room somewhere else in the compound afterward when the night came and darkness surrounded the complex once more.

This time, Kyle was not alone. He was with her now, properly this time, and with her, he could lie down in peace without the fear of the unknown around him perpetually picking at his anxieties. Despite all the things he had seen, sitting next to her getting ready for sleep against a wall... For the moment it was the closest he had been to peace since Lily hugged him.

He had that dream again. Once more holding her hand and flying above the clouds in the sky and seeing sights that could only be gleaned from planes, but this time he was the one that was flying. He didn't need to flap wings or have a rocket pack or anything like that, he could just fly. It would not just be like Javi, but something similar. Something that was his.

He still could remember the first time that he saw Javi do his thing. He wanted to cry at the sight of something that he had wanted for so long being in someone else's grasp, and instead, he was stuck with this face unable to help anyone or do anything with it. All he could do with it was be a bother. It robbed him of his speech, it robbed him of a face, and it didn't even have the courtesy to give him something more tangible than fucking binocular eyes. He had never been more jealous of another soul in his class. Not Kaine, Noah, Austin, Lily, Sayuna, not any of them more than Javi.

He hid this jealousy whenever he was out. There was no point in letting people know what bothered him. It was enough to get stares for how he looked, he did not want it for who he was. Even so, it lingered even now as their lives were in danger any second. it was so silly, Kyle did not even know if he was fine or not.

That’s why dreams like these were the first in a long time that he could remember being happy. That him looking like this gave him this purpose. It wasn't just him flying that made him happy, but turning his head and seeing the smile on her face at the same time and her holding onto his hand and seeing what he could see. It was knowing that she was safe from here. He wished that he could do this for real, that he could grab onto her hand and take her far away from here. So far away they wouldn't be on the same continent anymore. That none of these... murderers could hurt them or have the chance to get anyone to do so.

He would happily take Kaine, Austin, and Noah with him if he could. He wanted to talk about books with Kaine again, he wanted to speak his language with Noah and hear about his day through it, and he wanted to lightly poke fun at Austin for his terrible taste in dates. He hoped that he could see them again before... No, he had to see them again. They would see him again, and Lily too. He would make sure of that.

And in the morning, when he stretched his arms and listened to the announcements and heard more of the murders that had been committed, he was more sure than ever about what they had to do as Lily stood up and took hold of his right arm. He did his best to keep up with her as they went out of the room and down the hall.